Good Point Well Made
by Padfoot24601
Summary: As Adhara watched Harry pass through the flames she wondered, would life ever be the same as the friend of The Boy Who Lived. First in my series that details the adventures of Adhara Black. Enjoy :)
1. Of Friends and Castles

_**Disclaimer-Not mine! I wish it was true but I am not J. . I'm not even blonde anymore!**_

**Hey, I know that I already posted this story but the thing is that, in all honesty, it was crap. So I've decided to restart it-to do a rehash of the whole shebang! This rework will include a few different changes including but not limited to:**

**-Longer chapters (Really they're averaging out at fourteen pages!)**

**-Adhara not being a Mary-Sue**

**-She also has a living mum**

**-More detail**

**-More frequent updates**

**Regarding the Mary-Sue detail - please tell me if Adhara does wander into Sue territory! I'm trying hard to avert that but TvTropes can only help me so much.**

**Oh and there will be bad language. I remember being an eleven year old in Year7 and everyone swore non-stop, they still do in fact! So I apologise if it offends you.**

**So without further ado, here is Good Point Well Made!**

**Edit: Am trying to lesson the swearing in later chapters. A kind reviewer alerted me to just how much there really was and I do agree that it is rather ridiculous. I may edit it out of the current chapters when I find time. **

Of Friends and Castles 

Harry wandered down the train looking for somewhere to sit. Almost all the compartments were full of people chatting to their friends and he didn't much like the idea of asking the seventh years if he could sit with them.

Down at the end of the train he found a compartment empty save for a girl of about Harry's own age. "Erm…d-do you mind if I sit here?" he asked trying not to let his voice shake too much. The girl shook her head without looking at him.

Harry walked into the compartment and looked up at the luggage rack then down at his large trunk, he was going to struggle with this. Grabbing one end and placing Hedwig on a seat Harry tried to heave the heavy trunk on to the seat so that he would only have to lift it a little at a time. After trying three times Harry flopped down onto his seat.

"Aargh!" he cried angrily.

The girl, who up until then had been glaring at him as he grunted and almost dropped the trunk on her, sighed."Do you need some help?" she enquired tiredly

"Please" Harry replied gratefully.

Together the two of them succeeded in finally getting the trunk up into the rack.

"Thanks for that" he panted.

"You're welcome" she said throwing herself onto a seat before eyeing him critically. "I'm Adhara-spelt with a 'H'- what's your name?"

Harry was about to say when there was a knock at the compartment door. It slid open and the youngest red headed boy from earlier peered in.

"Mind if I sit with you?" he asked blushing slightly. Both Harry and Adhara shook their heads and Adhara gestured for him to sit next to her.

"I'm Ron" he said before turning to look at Harry "Are you really Harry Potter? Just my brothers said…" Ron trailed off as his ears turned bright red. Adhara's head shot up to look at him with wide eyes that searched for the scar on his forehead.

Harry nodded; he suddenly felt rather uncomfortable as the other two gaped at him in awe.

Adhara was the first to say something "Do-do you really have the-you know-scar?" she asked fervently as Ron nodded along to her question.

Harry smiled politely and swept back his fringe with a hand to reveal the thin lightening scar.

"Wow" Ron said "so that's where You-Know-Who got you?"

Harry nodded.

"Do you remember it?" Adhara asked looking hopeful.

"No."

"None of it?" said Ron.

"Just a flash of green light I think" Harry said

"Cool" Adhara said with an expression of amazement on her face "Well not cool" she backtracked immediately "just…interesting"

The three of them sank into and uncomfortable silence broken only by the sounds of the train starting to move.

"So are all your family wizards and witches?" Harry asked Ron curiously.

"Yeah I think so" Ron said furrowing his brow as he thought " I think we have a muggle cousin somewhere but I've never met him"

"A squib I'm guessing, am I right?" Adhara piped in.

"Probably, I never asked" replied Ron.

"How about you Ads? What are your family?" Harry said turning to Adhara. He was eager to hear more about the wizarding world

"Ads? Hmm, I like that." Adhara said smiling "My family is half and half. Mum's halfblood and dad was pureblood"

"Was?" Harry questioned.

"Dead. Died ages ago" Adhara said bluntly.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Harry said feeling ashamed of himself.

"Why? Not your fault. Besides at least I still have a mum"

"What family was he?" Ron asked bringing the subject back to Adhara's deceased father.

"Oh er Black. That's where I got the name from" Adhara was suddenly looking slightly worried, as though wondering if Ron wouldn't want to talk to her anymore.

"B-Black? And he married a halfblood? I thought your lot hated anything muggle!" exclaimed Ron.

"Yeah well he was a good Black! We're not all racist knobs you know!" Adhara was starting to look rather angry now and was glaring at Ron with stormy grey eyes.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that" he sent Harry a disbelieving glance "How about you Harry? I heard you were sent to live with muggles. What's that like?"

"Rubbish, not all muggles are bad but my aunt, uncle and cousin are. I bet it's great having brothers"

"Yeah I guess, problem is when you have five of them" Ron said staring gloomily out into the passing countryside "Bill and Charlie've left school-did right well too. Also Percy is prefect and Fred and George are really funny _and _clever, then because Ginny is the girl she's a favourite. I've got quite a bit to live up to. That and the fact that with such a big family you only ever get hand-me-downs-I even ended up with Percy's old rat!"

Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, fat and sleeping rat. "He's called Scabbers. All he ever does is eat and sleep. Perce didn't want him anymore cos he got an owl for becoming a prefect. I guess it's alright though, I wouldn't have gotten anything otherwise because we can't aff-well I like Scabbers anyway"

Ron's ears and cheeks both started turning red again and his eyes darted to his lap.

Harry and Adhara both shared a significant look. Harry decided to tell the other two about his upbringing and his previous lack of money in a bid to cheer Ron up.

"I didn't have a thing until Hagrid smashed down the front door and told me about Voldemort-"Ron gasped and Adhara shot him a nasty glare.

"Don't say the bloody name!" she hissed furiously.

"Why not? It's just a name, I don't see why people won't say it!" Harry voiced what he had been thinking ever since his first talk with Hagrid.

"I don't know!" Adhara said "It just doesn't feel right, Merlin you really have been living with the muggles haven't you?"

"I know. I'll be rubbish at Hogwarts won't I?" Harry finally admitted the thing that was worrying him most about going to a wizarding school.

"Nah you'll be fine. Loads of kids come from muggle families and it makes no difference to them" Ron reassured him.

Feeling reassured Harry changed the subject to lessons.

"I hear Defence Against the Dark Arts is good" Adhara told them at one point. "Yeah but they can never hold down a teacher can they?" Ron replied with a snort.

As they travelled fields full of sheep zoomed by and the sun rose higher into the sky to mark twelve 'o' clock.

At that time a friendly looking woman tottered past with a trolley of sweet delights.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Harry and Adhara both stood up but Ron remained seated and mumbled something about corned beef sandwiches.

Struggling not to drool over the large amount of fantastic wizarding confectionary Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the first money he'd ever had.

"Don't worry" he said to Adhara "I've got this" He decided that to make up for all his lost years in the wizarding world he would buy some of everything.

Returning to the compartment with his hands full of spice Harry sat down and said "This is to share you know".

Ron blushed and looked away "It's alright mate I've got these". He held up a slightly squashed sandwich.

"How about I trade you?"

"You sure?"

"Go on have some sweets-both of you! I can't eat them all" Harry spread the sweets out for them. He was happy to be able to share something for once in his life; he was especially happy to have nice people to share with.

"What are these?" he wondered holding up a purple case.

"Frogs" Adhara said simply.

"Not real frogs mind" Ron added seeing Harry's face "chocolate, each one comes with a card about a famous witch or wizard. People collect them, I'm needing Agrippa meself"

"Oh I've got a spare one of those if you want it" Adhara told him.

Harry opened his frog and looked at the photo on the card. It was of an old man with silver hair and a matching beard. Twinkling blue eyes peered up at Harry through half moon spectacles which were perched upon a long crooked nose.

'_Albus Dumbledore' _it read on the back _'currently Headmaster of by many to be the greatest wizard of the modern age, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Gridelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood and his work on alchemy with partner Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys tenpin bowling and chamber music._

"I've got Dumbledore" Harry said happily. "Wait…" Harry could swear he just saw Dumbledore raise one long finger towards his nose "he just scratched his nose!"

"Oh yeah, my Dumbledore always does that too" Adhara said absent-mindedly as she sucked on a liquorice wand.

"Really? In the muggle world people stay still in photos"

Ron and Adhara exchanged bemused looks as though Harry was clearly mad.

"_Weird_" Ron said.

They slipped into comfortable silence as they ate through the remaining sweets.

"I'd be careful with those I would" Adhara advised Harry when he picked up a box entitled _'Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans' . _"I remember when my godfather ate a rotten fish flavoured one once. He was sick on the carpet afterwards and we couldn't get rid of the smell for weeks."

"Yeah, George swears he had a bogey flavoured one once!" said Ron wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Adhara giggled "How would he know what bogeys tasted like?"

"You know I never asked…go on I dare you to eat that funny green one from the top"

Adhara picked up the slime coloured bean from the very top of the packet. "You're on" she muttered. Placing the bean on her tongue she shuddered slightly before chewing."Oh god it was sprout flavour!" she cried after swallowing. The two boys burst out laughing at her reaction as she tried to get rid of the lingering taste of badly cooked sprouts."Well if you two find it so funny then why don't you have a go!"

For at least ten minutes they worked their way through the box of oddly flavoured beans and, Harry was sure, even came across a tripe flavoured one.

The train flew into tangled woods and passed winding, glistening streams. The lamps up and down the train flickered to life to make up for the sunlight that the looming trees were blocking. Ron stood up and started digging around in his trunk. "Fred taught me a spell to turn Scabbers yellow yesterday, wanna see?" he explained as he pulled a chipped wand out of his trunk. Harry and Adhara nodded excitedly as he raised his wand to Scabbers and cleared his throat.

Suddenly the compartment door slid open a small girl with bushy hair stood in the doorway."Have one of you seen a toad? My friend Neville has lost his" she said in a bossy voice.

"Er…no, sorry" Harry said trying to think back.

The girl didn't appear to hear Harry, she was too busy looking at the raised wand in Ron's hand "Are you doing magic? May I see it, then?" She didn't appear to be asking-more challenging.

Ron blinked and wore and expression vaguely like a deer caught in the headlights."Okay…" he raised his wand again "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow"Nothing happened.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked sceptically "It's not very good, is it? Personally I prefer to use the ones I find in the books, I've actually been trying a few out and they've all worked quite well for me. I come from a long line of non magical people-muggles I think-so when I got my letter it was such a wonderful surprise! I hope I'll do alright though-I mean I've learnt nearly all the books by heart, I just hope it will be enough though! I'm Hermione Granger by the way, who are you?"

Harry shook his head slightly as he tried to process all of the things the girl had just said. "Ron Weasley" muttered Ron darkly.

"Adhara Black" Adhara drawled.

"Er…Harry Potter" Harry all but whispered.

"Really?" Hermione exclaimed loudly "I've read all about you! You're in all the books I got for background reading even _Modern Magical History_! It's very nice to meet you!"

"N-nice to meet you too" Harry said feeling mildly dazed.

"Is it really? Thank you! What house do you think you'll be in? I'd like to be in Gryffindor like Dumbledore but I suppose that Ravenclaw would be alright, I don't much fancy Slytherin though. Well anyway I should be getting back to Neville to tell him I don't have Trevor the toad. You three should probably change into your robes too, I expect we'll be there soon"

So she left with an excited sweep of her robes.

"I hope I'm not in her house" said Ron stuffing his wand back into his trunk.

"I agree" Adhara seconded heartily.

"What house do you two want to be in?" Harry asked.

"Well my whole family has been in Gryffindor so I don't think I have much choice, it sounds like the best house though so…how about you Ads?""Gryffindor" she replied "that's where my mum was. The rest of her family on her dads side was a bit of a mix and match between that, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I think she said that my dad was a Gryffindor too"

Ron made a disbelieving noise in the back of his throat."What?" she snapped suddenly angry again."Well it's just a Black like your dad in Gryffindor sounds a bit…"

"She wasn't lying! I thought we had already decided that my father was good so shut up about it!"

"Sorry" Ron said holding his hands up defensively "You didn't need to get so het up about it"

Adhara huffed and the atmosphere in the compartment became rather uncomfortable.

The compartment door slid open again but this time it wasn't Hermione stood in the doorway.

Flanked by two huge boys stood the pale, blonde boy that Harry had talked to in Madam Malkin's shop.

"Is it true?" he demanded "that you are Harry Potter? I was told he would be sitting in this compartment and I'm guessing he's not ginger or the girl?" he spoke in a similar bored drawl to Adhara but more obnoxious and with less emotion.

"Yes it is me" Harry said sheepishly.

"Well this is Crabbe and Goyle" he said gesturing too his two beefy body guards "and I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy"

"Charmed" Adhara said before Harry could reply.

"Who are you?" Malfoy asked rudely.

"Adhara Black"

"That means you're related to the Black family" Malfoy stated.

"Well no, I'd never have guessed" Adhara said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So you'll be in Slytherin with us then?" Malfoy pointed to himself, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Nope. Gryffindor all the way for me" Adhara lifted her fist above her head as though declaring victory.

Malfoy seemed to lose interest in Adhara after she said this and turned to look at Ron.

"How about you? Red hair, scatty robes and too many freckles-my father told me about your lot, you must be a Weasley"

He finally turned his attentions back to Harry.

"You'll soon find that some families are better than others Potter, you don't want to go making friends with these two blood traitors. I can help you out if you like" Malfoy held out his hand towards Harry for him to shake it but Harry declined.

"I'm quite happy with the friends I have, thanks" he said coldly.

"Are you sure? Making friends with this lot could cause you to meet the same end as your foolish parents. They were misguided too and look where it got them, carry on with vermin like these two and you'll end up just as bad"

All three stood up."Say that again" a red-faced Ron snarled. Both he and Adhara had pulled their wands out and Harry could tell that Malfoy, like Harry himself, had noticed that the two of them could easily pass for third years.

But it seemed that Ron and Adhara had also realised that Crabbe and Goyle were about the size of two small fifth years.

"Are you going to fight us?" sneered Malfoy "It's just that we don't have any food left and you still seem to have some, help yourself boys"

Goyle reached out one ham like hand and made to grab a chocolate frog but before he had even touched it he let out a pained yell.

Scabbers the rat was dangling from Goyle's fat knuckle and didn't appear to want to let go. Spinning and yelping Goyle tried to get rid of Scabbers by shaking his hand as roughly as he could. Finally Scabbers lost his grip and flew off into the window which he hit with a resounding thud. All at once Malfoy and his two cronies ran sped out of the room before Scabbers could strike again.

"What _has _been going on in here?" Hermione Granger had come back to the rather confusing sight of scattered sweets and an unconscious, but still not yellow, rat.

"Oh nothing" Adhara said breezily "just had a fight with a skinny weirdo and his pet bears. Thankfully Scabbers the super rat stepped in though so you can sleep easy in your bed tonight, actually Ron, how is our saviour? That looked painful"

"You'll never believe it, he's gone back to sleep!" Ron was tucking a snoozing Scabbers into his pocket and shaking his head.

"So you've met Malfoy before?" he asked Harry.

Harry explained their first chance meeting in Diagon Alley.

"Of all the people to run into, I've heard of the Malfoy's before. Apparently they were some of the first to return to our side after You-Know-Who's downfall, saying they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe them though, he doesn't like Malfoy's dad."

"My mum doesn't either. She always says that he was just looking for an excuse to go dark side when You-Know-Who came along" Adhara said nodding to what Ron had been saying.

Harry saw that Hermione was still standing in the doorway. "Can we help you with something?" he asked kindly.

"I was just talking to the driver" she sniffed "he says we'll be there soon so I thought I'd tell you to get ready, try to stay out of fights when we get there, oh and Ron-you have dirt on your nose" And with that Hermione left.

Harry and Ron turned away as Adhara got changed and she returned the favour for them-at least Harry hoped she did.

Outside the window the terrain had turned into rocky mountains and deep forests that were outlined against the purple sky.

Now Harry could tell that the train was slowing down and the voice that echoed through the train confirmed this when it told them to leave there luggage where it was.

Harry looked at the other two and was reassured to see that he wasn't the only one who thought he might faint. Ron was pure white underneath his freckles and Adhara seemed to have lost an awful lot of her bravado.

The train shuddered to a grinding halt. Harry felt himself being pushed towards the door by Adhara who was also pushing a nearly catatonic Ron.

The biting cold air hit Harry like a wall and he shivered slightly.

Above the sea of heads a lamp bobbed and a familiar voice boomed across them: "Firs'-years this way! Firs'-years, oh alrigh' there Harry?"

Harry nodded to Hagrid and beamed up at him. "C'mon follow me t' boats, all firs'-years follow me!"

The group of other first years followed Hagrid down a meandering pathway through the trees where they stopped by a lake and some announced that they should all be able to see Hogwarts soon .

There was a collective "Oooh" when it came into their 's many towers and turrets were outlined against the blackening sky. Lights shone from the square windows like hundreds of little eyes that watched the first years as four by four they climbed into the little wooden boats.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid asked "Righ'-FORWARD!"

The boats started gliding along the smooth water of their own accord. No one spoke. No one moved. They were all too intent on drinking in the sight of the castle before them. "Heads down!" Hagrid ordered them when they were ready to go beneath a curtain of ivy and into a small and winding Granger had to yank Adhara down by the collar when she didn't duck.

"Oh Lord we're here!" Adhara gasped as they pulled complete silence they walked into the castle.

"Hey, is this yer toad?" Hagrid asked a trembling Neville.

"Trevor!" Neville cried with joy before slipping Trevor the toad into his pocket to stop him from escaping.

Once again they fell into nervous silence. After climbing one set of marble stairs they stopped for the final time, this time in front of a large oak door.

Hagrid knocked.

**So…how was it? I know it was a little dialogue heavy but the next one isn't as much. I'm aiming for one chapter a week at the moment and seeing as I've written in advance that shouldn't be much of a for cookies?**


	2. Of Houses and Hats

_**Diclaimer-When I find the TARDIS this may one day become mine, but only if The Doctor gets over his rule about not changing the past and from the looks of things now I don't think that will be happening any time soon. All in all this belong to J.-not me. Oh, I also used the Sorting Song from the first book for this chapter because I don't have enough imagination to make my own :)  
P.s. I can't remember if I posted the first chapter last Monday or what but I just thought that I may as well do this one tonight because I'm incredibly bored so enjoy! **_

OfHouses and Hats

Adhara swallowed nervously to try and get rid of the growing lump in her and the other first years were stood in front of a very stern looking witch in emerald robes and Adhara could tell that angering this woman would be a very bad idea.

"Here you go Professor McGonagall"

"Thank you for the help Hagrid, I have got them from here" she replied in a tough Scottish burr.

They were led into an entrance hall so big that Adhara was sure you could have fitted a small dragon in it. It reminded her distinctly of Gringotts with its tall sweeping stair case and flaming torches.

Professor McGonagall opened a small door and took them into a tight anti-chamber which they had to squash together to fit in.

"Welcome to Hogwarts" she said surveying them "In a few moments each one of you shall be sorted into your respective houses. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each house is equally respected amongst the wizarding world and you will do well to keep the respect going." She eyed them beadily before carrying on."Your house will be like your family during your stay here at Hogwarts, any victories will earn you points whereas and rule-breaking or bad behaviour will lose you points. These points will go towards earning you the House Cup at the end of the year-a prestigious honour. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin so I suggest that you smarten up"

There was a rustle of movement as people straightened their robes and tucked their shirts in. Adhara herself pulled out a small mirror to check her hair and to make sure there was no dirt on her nose like there was on Ron's.

"I shall be back when we are ready for you" McGonagall said leaving the room.

"How do you think we'll be sorted?" Adhara heard Harry ask.

"No idea mate" Ron replied "Fred says it hurts though, even that some people don't make it!"

"I doubt they'd do something that could harm us" Adhara was trying to reassure herself as much as she was the others.

Her heart was up in her throat by how and with the rate at which it was pumping it was almost painful. What if they had to do a test?She had hardly read her books let alone practiced any spells. Adhara's mind was blank and yet a million things raced through it all at once, what if she was a Slytherin? What would her mother say? What if they decided that they couldn't sort her, if she wasn't magical enough? Could they do that? Would she be the first one ever that they had to send home?Each thought, each worry felt like a punch in the stomach. One more reason why she wasn't good enough for very rarely lost confidence in herself so as she waited in the anti-chamber she was feeling an almost entirely alien emotion-anxiety.

Behind her were several gasps. Spinning round Adhara watched as several pearly-white ghosts floated though the wall."New students!" one of them shouted "Good luck in your sorting!" The Fat Friar led the rest of the ghosts through the opposite wall without another word.

Professor McGonagall stepped back into the room just as they left.

"Come in now" she barked "It's time for your sorting, get into a line-come on! Now follow me"

Everyone tried to get to the back of the line as they walked into a cathedral sized hall that had four tables down the middle and one more along the top where more Professors sat. Torches and tapestries lined the walls and hundreds of floating candles hung above them to reveal the clear night desperately tried to block out Hermione Grangers babbling about '_Hogwarts, A History_' and instead focused on not fainting or tripping over her robes. She suddenly felt rather small with the eyes of a few hundred students on her and the professors looking at her and the other first years.

At the end of the hall, by the teachers table, was a tiny four-legged stool on top of which sat an incredibly dirty and frayed hat.

Feeling nonplussed, Adhara just stared blankly at the hat waiting for something to happen. Suddenly the a rip near the brim of the hat opened and the silence was broken:

_Oh you may not think I'm pretty,But don't judge on what you see,I'll eat myself if you can findA smarter hat than can keep your bowlers black,Your top hats sleek and tall,For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting HatAnd I can cap them 's nothing hidden in your headThe Sorting Hat can't see,So try me on and I will tell youWhere you ought to might belong in Gryffindor,Where dwell the brave at heart,Their daring, nerve, and chivalrySet Gryffindors apart;You might belong in Hufflepuff,Where they are just and loyal,Those patient Hufflepuffs are trueAnd unafraid of toil;Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,if you've a ready mind,Where those of wit and learning,Will always find their kind;Or perhaps in SlytherinYou'll make your real friends,Those cunning folks use any meansTo achieve their put me on! Don't be afraid!And don't get in a flap!You're in safe hands (though I have none)For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

A round of applause echoed through the hall and Adhara had barely started before everyone else had stopped.

So they only had to try on a hat? Tonks, her cousin, had given her a long story about having to go into the neighbouring forest and tame one of the centaurs!

Professor McGonagall strode forward with a long roll of parchment in her hands. Fear filled Adhara again-at this rate she didn't have a chance of making Gryffindor!

"Abbott, Hannah!" McGonagall read out. It looked like they were going alphabetically which really made all the fighting to get at the back of the queue rather pointless.

A round faced girl scuttled up the steps and sat on the stool. The hat fell right over her long sandy pigtails and stopped at her nose."HUFFLEPUFF!" it shouted.

The sea of yellow cheered and waved at Hannah as she ran over to sit with them.

"Black, Adhara!"

Adhara broke out of the line and stepped up to her certain doom trying to walk confidently. This was it.

The hat was placed on her head and immediately dropped to cover her eyes, the strong smell of must filled her nostrils making her cough slightly.

_I don't smell that bad do I? _A quiet voice sounded right in Adhara's ear.

"N-no…I-"

_Oh don't worry, it's been a long time since I was washed._

"You can hear me?"

_Of course I can! Now what house shall we put you in…ah…you're clever, my word you are. Would Ravenclaw suit you?_

Er…I don't think so-

_No I agree, you don't have the work ethic…how about Hufflepuff…?_

The hat didn't wait for Adhara to answer._No I don't think so, too scared of hard work…how about Slytherin?_

Adhara froze-"NO!"

_Why not? _

"I just-it's not for me." Adhara finished lamely.

_Hmm, your parents were the same. Especially your father…you're very like him._

Adhara felt herself swell with pride.

_Cunning enough…but if that's not what you want then who am I to force you?_

_I know what you want, Miss Black. To be a lion, yes it's all there. The bravery, the loyalty…_

"Really?" Adhara could feel her hope start to rise.

_Oh yes. Even the bad points are there. Proud, arrogant, afraid to show fear._

"I'm not like that!" Adhara was starting to feel angry now.

_Quick to anger…yes you'd do well in Gryffindor. Don't worry you're still young._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Adhara stood up upon hearing the cheers and the whispers. A Black in Gryffindor? Honestly she found it hard to care as she sat down-she was a Gryffindor! Now she could sit down as the others were Mandy Brocklehurst Lavender Brown came down to join Adhara at the Gryffindor table. Adhara wondered if the hat had called Lavender proud and arrogant too.

She now just had to sit and wait as more first years were sorted, cheering when people joined Gryffindor and clapping politely when the went Hermione Granger was sorted into the house of the lions Adhara saw Ron share her groan and Longbottom was the second boy to come down to their table and the only one to do so still wearing the hat.

Draco Malfoy swaggered up to the stool at the sound of his name and Adhara hoped desperately that she hadn't looked that cocky when she had walked up.

The hat had hardly been placed upon his head when it cried "SLYTHERIN!".

A few more people were left to be sorted when finally Harry was called up. Adhara didn't think she had ever seen anyone look so terrified at the prospect of being sorted.

He sat, shaking on the stool for at least three minutes before the hat finally gave it's verdict-"GRYFFINDOR!"

The racket was unbelievable, even the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables cheered with happiness that Harry hadn't been sorted into Slytherin.

By the end of the applause Adhara was sure that the ringing would never quite disappear from her ears, she hugged Harry when he plopped down next to her.

"Well done!" she found herself screaming in his face.

Together they waited, their fingers crossed, for Ron to be sorted. After what felt like forever he stumbled up to the front then-in a sorting that was as short as Malfoy's-he became a of Ron's brothers reached over the table to congratulate him-even the twins went over for a hug.

Being too busy embracing Ron Adhara missed Blaise Zabini walk over to the Slytherin table as the last first year to be sorted that year.

Their headmaster had jumped rather sprightly to his feet and beamed, with his arms wide as though embracing them all, at them.

"Welcome, welcome! Lovely as always to welcome you all back to Hogwarts! Now, so as not to keep you from our magnificent feast, I have only a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Make of them what you will! Thank you!"

The whole hall laughed appreciatively.

"Is he a bit…mad?" Harry asked Percy looking unsure.

"Well you'd have to be wouldn't you?" Percy replied offering Harry potatoes.

Adhara looked down the table and gasped. Delicious food lined the table. Everything Adhara could have thought of was sat on a golden plate in front of her-even mint humbugs!

"Why do they have humbugs?" Ron questioned through a mouthful of Yorkshire Pudding and gravy.

"Keep your breath fresh?" Adhara offered him as she grabbed a few.

The ghost near her groaned.

"Oh that does look good…" he said wistfully.

Hermione Granger looked up at him. "Can't you eat any?"

"Unfortunately no" ghost moaned "Not for four hundred years; have I introduced myself yet? Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington here to help should you ever need some. I'm the ghost of Gryffindor Tower"

"Oh I know who you are! You're Nearly Headless Nick!" Ron said pointing at him.

"I prefer _Sir Nicholas_" the ghost said coolly.

"How can you be _nearly _headless?" Seamus Finnigan asked curiously.

"Hmph! Like this" he huffed. Grabbing his left ear he yanked forcefully. His whole head fell to his shoulder to reveal the inside of his neck, finally looking pleased at their disgusted reaction he placed his head back on the top of his ruff and floated to the other end of the table.

Not long later everyone's plate cleared and the food on the table was replaced by hundreds of different deserts. Adhara herself took a slice of orange topped cheesecake.

Seamus Finnigan was telling them of his half wizard lineage-"Apparently me dad passed out stone cold when she told him she was a witch!"

Neville piped in "I was raised my gran, she was sure I was a squib. Her brother kept trying to force magic out of me-it's amazing I'm still alive! He bought me Trevor to make up for it though."

Adhara gazed up at the staff table where Professor Dumbledore was chatting merrily to a tiny little wizard next to him. Next her eyes fell on a particularly unpleasant looking man with dark eyes and greasy black hair that formed curtains around his thin, sallow face. Next to her Harry gasped and clapped a hand to his head. It seamed that Percy had also noticed Harry's apparent pain.

"Alright there Harry?" he asked.

Adhara missed Harry's answer to laugh at the punch line to one of Fred and George's jokes.

She was still laughing when Professor Dumbledore stood up again.

"Just a few more words" he said smiling "I have a few new year notices to hand out. First years will need to know that the forest along the edge of the grounds is forbidden, a few the older students would do well to remember that too"

Adhara found herself making a mental not to check the forest out.

"Also your caretaker Mr Filch has asked me to inform you about the list of banned objects nailed to his office door and would like you to remember that magic is not to be used in the corridors under any circumstances.

The time table for Quidditch trials will be on your house notice board, if you need any extra information then just contact Madam Hooch or your house captain.

Finally I have a new notice this year-the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side of the castle is out of bounds to those who do not wish to die a most painful death"

A few people laughed, especially amongst the first years but one glance at Professor Dumbledore's grave face told them that he wasn't joking.

"And now" he bellowed happily "let us sing the school song!" Ribbon shot from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to form words.

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts,Teach us something please,Whether we be old and bald,Or young with scabby knees,Our heads could do with filling,With some interesting stuff,For now they're bare and full of air,Dead flies and bits of fluff,So teach us things worth knowing,Bring back what we've forgot,Just do your best, we'll do the rest,And learn until our brains all rot. _

Everyone sang at their own speed and with their own tune to create a chaotic mess of voices. The Weasley twins were the very last to finish after singing at a crawling funeral march.

"Ah music" Dumbledore sighed cheerfully "The greatest magic of all, now then off to bed. Go on pip pip!"

At this the noise level raised considerably and Adhara could see Percy trying to get the attention of the Gryffindor first years.

"Come on first years! Follow me, come on! Up these stairs here!"

Percy showed them up the sweeping marble staircase to lead them to the Gryffindor common was far too tired to notice half of her surroundings but laughed along with everyone else when Peeves the poltergeist made rude noises at them and gasped when she saw a staircase move.

Eventually they reached the end of a high corridor and stopped in front of an oval portrait of an enormously fat lady in a silky pink dress.

"Password?" she said politely.

Percy paused "_Caput Draconis" _The portrait swung forward to reveal a fair sized round room that had a number of squashy armchairs placed around a crackling fire.

"Girls' dormitories are up the right-hand set of stairs and boys' are on the left, all your belongings should already be up there for you"

Adhara ambled up the staircase with the three other first year girls and was happy to see that she had been given the bed by the window. The girls set about introducing themselves."Hi, I'm Parvati Patil" a pretty girl with long dark hair said to the other three.

"Lavender Brown" the blonde girl that had been sorted after Adhara told them as she rummaged around in her trunk for some pyjamas.

"Adhara Black" she said wiggling her fingers around the room whilst she brushed her hair.

"Hermione Granger, nice to meet you all" Hermione finished the introductions off. "I think my bed is next to yours Adhara"Adhara hardly bothered to suppress a groan and rolled her eyes.

"Anyone fancy a dorm picture? My dad gave me his camera this morning" Lavender waved the camera above her head "We'll do four so that we can send them home to our parents, maybe another for the notice board on the door."

"Oooh go on then" Parvati replied.

They all huddled together in the centre of the room and Adhara, being the tallest, held the camera out to take a photo. She clicked five times and on the final one Lavender instructed them to each pull a face.

Adhara smiled at her photo of them alternating between funny faces and demure smiles, she would have to take a few or herself, Harry and Ron with her own camera to send to her mum.

She clambered into her bed, sighing with pleasure at the softness."Nan-night" Hermione whispered.

"Night" they all whispered back.

**Okay? I know this one isn't quite as long but there wasn't quite as much to fit in this time. I think that now the chapters will stay as 3****rd**** person limited to Adhara unless I think that one event would work better coming from someone else. You might get one from Ron, Hermione or Adhara's mum but I'm not sure yet. More will probably come from Harry though.**

**How about reviews for chocolate frogs?**


	3. Of Greasy Gits and Fallouts

_**Disclaimer: Yeah…this isn't mine…not really.**_**Also massive thanks to the anonymous reviewer Ali, your review made my day :D **

Of Greasy Gits and Fallouts

Adhara wasn't ready to get up each morning. It was only Hermione's gentle call of "Rise and shine sleeping beauty, if you don't get up now you won't have time to do your hair" that finally awoke her each day.

She genuinely didn't think that she had ever gotten up so quickly or so early before in her bleary eyes she would meet Harry and Ron down in the common room where they would follow the growing crowd of people down towards the Great Hall.

People whispered as they passed with Harry in the middle of them."Do you see him?""Over there?""Yes, by the ginger one""Oh my god it really is Harry Potter!"

Unlike Harry Adhara found that she rather liked the attention that came through being The Boy Who Lived-or in her case The Boy Who Lived's friend.

That day the three friends sat down on the Gryffindor table where they each pulled food towards yawned as she peeled her orange, it was their third day at Hogwarts which was a Friday and also meant that they would be having their first potions class.

Each one of them was worried about the potions master Professor Snape having heard different rumours about were many rumours flying around about Snape but the most common seemed to be that he was a could see why people thought that when she took in his yellowing teeth and sallow skin.

Scanning the hall she saw a familiar owl fly towards her.

"Hey Dave" she said as the barn owl landed next to her with a letter from her mother in reply to the one she had sent the day before.

One of the twins walked over and gave Ron a letter "From mum and dad" they said "they sent it with Hermes because they were worried that Errol would pass out half way through the journey"

Ron muttered his thanks.

"You got one too?" he asked Adhara.

"Yeah" she said before reading it.

_Dear Adhara_

_Congratulations on making Gryffindor, I'm so proud! I know I said I would be proud no matter what but honestly I do think that you will do best there-in fact your darling godfather decided that it would be prudent to take a photo of my reaction. You'll find said photo in this you're friends with Harry Potter? I knew his parents vaguely myself and if he is anything like them then you have a very good friend with you. I have only met the Weasleys a handful of times but from what I remember of them they are incredibly lovely so I'm sure that Ron will be you for the picture of the three of you together and for that one of the girls in your dorm-they seem like a nice lot. Regarding the picture of Harry, I think that you might like to tell him that he looks extraordinarily like his father but with his mothers eyes. I'm sure that he would appreciate hearing that, if I can find any photos of his parents then I will send them , about your father's family, I have told you before that it doesn't matter what they were like! All you share with them is a name so please don't let it get to anyway, good luck with your classes, don't get into trouble and DO NOT enter the Forbidden Forest-I know you were thinking about my loveMum xxx_

Adhara grinned and pulled a photo out of the envelope. It showed a brunette woman reading a letter intently before jumping up and down cheering wildly, the woman looked at the camera and placed one hand on her hip with a mock stern expression at the man behind it.

Adhara laughed.

"Is that your mum?" Harry asked looking amused at the sight of a grown woman leaping in the air like a mad person.

"Yeah, she says that she knew your parents-not very well" Adhara added feeling guilty when Harry's eyes widened with excitement "-but she says that you look just like your dad with your mum's eyes"

Harry beamed at her and Adhara felt her heart swell. She decided not to tell him about the photos, just in case they never arrived.

"What does your letter say, Ron?" she asked peering over his shoulder.

"Nothing!" He snapped pulling the letter to his chest."All right, no need to get your knickers in a twist about it" Adhara said sitting back.

"Sorry, it just says that they're glad I'm a Gryffindor and that Harry, you sound nice"

"What do they think about me?" Adhara questioned eagerly.

Ron replied a little too quickly "Same thing"

"Let me see it then" she said suspiciously.

"No"

"I _want _to see it"

"No, it's private"

"I don't care, now let me see it" Adhara lunged forward to try and get the letter, unfortunately Ron held it high above his where she couldn't reach it.

"I _said _no, it's not yours" he made to slip it in to his pocket but Adhara snatched it out of his hand before he could shove it in.

_-Ron I'm not trying to tell you not to be friends with Adhara Black, I'm just advising that you be careful. Her family have a long history of dark magic and half of them are in Azkaban for it. Again I'm not telling you to leave her because of it-for all I know she may be completely different-but if it looks like she starts to turn, as she might, then I want you to tell me-_

Adhara had read enough. She screwed the letter up into a ball and threw it into Ron's face before turning away and folding her arms.

"Look Ads, my dad is just watching out for me. I'm writing to him tonight to say that you're different-" Ron began."Harry" Adhara interrupted viscously "Tell Weasley that I'm not talking to him"

"Ads don't you think that you're being a bit childish?" Harry sighed."You're taking his side aren't you?" Adhara turned an accusing eye to Harry.

"I'm taking no sides" he said defensively holding his hands up.

"Well then, kindly tell _Weasley_ that we are not talking!" Adhara said Ron's name as though it was mud.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed "You're worse than my little sister you are!" And with that they both turned away from each other and started mutilating their breakfast.

"Hagrid asked if we would like to go to his hut later" Silence."Well you're _both_ coming anyway-you don't have to talk to each other" he added seeing their mutinous glares.

After ten more minutes of stony silence they set off towards potions. Adhara got them there by asking the kindest looking Hufflepuff she could find where the potion classroom was."Oh just down there" the fourth year girl said pointing towards a small spiral staircase that went underneath the rest of the school "Just keep going until you get to the long corridor then take the third door on the left, if you see the portrait of the drunk nuns playing monopoly then you've gone too far, okay?"

"Yeah thanks" Adhara said with a winning smile.

It transpired that the dungeons, in which the lessons took place, were bitterly cold due the lack of natural sunlight down there. True to form Professor Snape looked as though he very rarely left the dungeons and he reminded Adhara vaguely of one of the grotesque pickled creatures that lined the walls of the classroom.

He walked around the desk to look each one of the students in the eyes. Like Professor McGonagall, the resident Transfiguration teacher, he could keep a class silent but, unlike McGonagall, it was out of fear rather than respect.

"I do not expect any of you to excel in potion brewing" his soft voice carried across the room with perfect clarity "It is, after all, an immensely subtle and careful art. Unfortunately if you are anything like the rest of the half-wits I am usually lumbered with then you will all find this lesson unfailingly difficult"Silence lingered heavy in room."Potter!" he snapped "tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of Asphodel into an infusion of Wormwood?"

Adhara turned to her side to glance at Harry. The sheer panic in his eyes was almost comical, indeed the Slytherins were in fits.

"Er, I-I don't know, sir"

"Obviously" Snape snarled. "Let us see if one of your class mates can help you out-Black?"

Adhara froze just as Harry had before her. Her mind was completely blank.

"I don't know either, sir"

"My, my, let's try again-Potter! What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

Once again Harry looked up at Snape with a nonplussed expression on his face. "I don't know, sir""Black?"""Me neither, sir" Adhara found herself hiding behind her hair.

"One last time" Snape said "Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?""I don't know, sir. But-" he gestured to Hermione who had been waving her hand in the air for the last few minutes "-why don't you ask Hermione? She appears to know"

Adhara laughed along with all the other Gryffindors.

Snape's lips thinned."Sit down," he said to Hermione before looking at Adhara "Black, perhaps you know where I could find a bezoar?"

Spurred on by Harry's short show of arrogance which, she could claim years made _him _the bad influence and not her, Adhara decided to have her own go."I'm not sure, sir. Maybe in that draw labelled 'bezoars' by your desk"Adhara shared a smile of triumph with Harry who laughed appreciatively.

"Detention Black, you too Potter. My office tonight at six' o'clock. To answer my earlier questions: A bezoar is a small stone can be found in the stomach of a goat, Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant and a key ingredient in the Wolfsbane potion. And finally Asphodel and Wormwood can be mixed to make the Draught of Living Death-the most powerful sleeping potion known to man. Why you all copying this down?"People hurriedly started scribbling what Snape had just told them.

All lesson Snape swept bat-like around the classroom as they made a simple potion to cure boils. Adhara had already had him breathing over her neck as she weighed out her crushed nettles."Tut, tut Black. I said twelve grams not twenty" he sneered after her hand had slipped during the precise process of weighing.

Next to her Harry was struggling to make out the number markers on his measuring cylinder and in front of her Dean Thomas was desperately trying to keep his cauldron from falling off of the none of them were having as much trouble as poor Neville Longbottom.

"Stupid boy!" Snape shouted when Neville's cauldron melted through to release a viscous substance that made violent, purple boils appear all over his arms. "Am I correct in guessing that you missed step five?"Neville barely managed to give an answer through his tears."Thomas-take Longbottom to the hospital wing!"

Next Snape rounded on Harry-"I expect you thought that it would be funny to see Longbottom fail?"Harry made to argue back but Adhara grabbed his sleeve just as Ron muttered "Don't"

The end of the lesson was rounded off by Snape berating all the Gryffindors about their "abysmal" potions and him reminding Harry and Adhara about their detention.

On their way over to Hagrid's hut Ron and Adhara maintained their lack of communication, deciding instead to talk through Harry.

When they arrived at Hagrid's one-roomed hut he greeted them warmly and served them his homemade rock cakes. Adhara watched the other two grimace in pain as they took bites out of their rock cakes and so decided to politely decline on the lie that she was allergic to raisins.

"Not another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid said upon being introduced to Ron "Not like those twin brothers o' your are yeh? I've spent a good two years chasin' after those two"Ron smiled through a mouthful of rock cake.""Adhara Black? Yeah I remember yer mother-came down teh me hut every so often"

The subject quickly moved to their first encounter with Professor Snape."-and then he gave me and Adhara a detention for six' o'clock tonight!" Harry finished after recounting a very biased version what had happened."Ah well, Pr'fessor Snape's always been like that. From the day he started teaching ere." Hagrid replied with a wave of his enormous hand. "Yes but he seemed to really hate us! Especially Harry!" Adhara argued.

"I doubt it" Hagrid said quickly-_too _quickly.

_Just like Ron-mummy's-boy-Weasley did this morning…_Adhara thought bitterly.

"Hagrid-" began Harry also looking suspicious.

"How're yer elder brothers Ron?" Hagrid cut in swiftly.

Adhara rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Ads" Harry whispered gesturing for her to move closer to him "look at this"Adhara read the newspaper clipping in his hands:

_GRINGOTTS' GOBLINS REMAIN SILENT_

_Following the recent break in at the British bank Gringotts the goblins are still refusing to make comment. News about the break in, which happened on July 31'st, has stayed hush-hush though it has been rumoured that nothing was stolen as the vault was emptied earlier that break in is thought to have been executed by a group of highly trained dark wizards or one has been arrested yet but Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt has said that they are still looking into things and will announce any further progress._

Adhara shrugged "What about it?" she asked blankly.

"It happened on my birthday!" Harry said pointing to the date "Hagrid? Could the break in at Gringotts have happened while we were there?"

Hagrid looked away without replying.

Adhara was still bemused as to why the article bothered Harry so much, but the curiosity was pushed from her mind to be replaced with dread at the prospect of Snape's detention.

Her and Harry made their way to Snape's office without talking. It felt very much like the beginning of the Sorting Ceremony when Adhara had been sure that she was walking to her imminent doom; she hoped that it would go like the Sorting itself and not be as bad as expected.

She was wrong. It went worse.

Snape spent the entire hour sneering at them whilst they skinned frogs for him. Every so often he would throw out an insult about their blatant disregard for rules or Harry's "undeserved fame" and Adhara's "shallow concern for appearance over achievement".Once every fifteen minutes he would stand up from behind his desk and sweep over to them to cast a critical eye over their progress and loudly tut over it.

Adhara shivered in the cold, dark office and wondered how Snape could stand to spend his free time in there. Like his classroom jars of preserved creatures filled up every available space and stared down at Harry and Adhara who were kneeled on the floor by a large cauldron full of frogs waiting to have their skin ripped off by two very inexperienced, and reluctant, young potioneers.

At seven 'o' clock Snape dismissed them after telling that their frogs were unfit for use in any potion.

They quickly scrambled up to the door and left as fast as they could without looking back, not slowing down until they were out of the dungeons entirely.

"That dickhead!" Adhara exploded when they were far out of earshot "I have blood in my hair-my hair Harry!"

She picked up a tendril of matted, curly hair to wave in Harry's face.

"Yes I know Ads, I was right next to you when screamed about it! Although how you flung the frog that high I'll never know" Harry shook his head to hide his laughter. "But" he said becoming serious "speaking of dickheads when are you thinking of making up with Ron?"

"When he stops being a dickhead-simple as."

"When I said dickhead I didn't mean Ron-I meant you"They were outside the portrait hole now.

"How am I being the dickhead?" Adhara asked her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits.

"By refusing to talk to him just because of some advice that his dad gave him" It was clear that Harry was trying not to push the subject too forcefully but as far as Adhara was concerned even the most constructive criticism was criticism that she didn't deserve.

"So you _are _taking his side! That's it I'm going to bed!" Adhara gave the Fat Lady the password before running up to her dormitory.

When she got up stairs she dived into bed and pulled the curtains shut around her. Sobbing she tried to comb the frogs blood out of her hair. Although a small part of her cried for her messed up hair most of her cried for Harry and Ron; deep down she knew that she was in the wrong-she just wouldn't admit it.

**Reviews are nice and I know nothing of subtlety *hint hint* :D **


	4. Of Giant Dogs and Quidditch

_**Disclaimer: As much as I want it to be this isn't mine-only Adhara is. **_

**Warning for bad language in this one-there will be quite a few cluster-f-bombs in a bit. Sorry if it offends you :)**

Of Giant Dogs and Quidditch

The next few days were hard for Adhara. She had succeeded in completely alienating herself from Harry and Ron and so had found herself almost completely had barely managed to last two days without attention before Hermione Granger had taken pity on her."I just can't stand to see you moping around anymore-you keep doing it on my bed instead of yours!" she said on Sunday afternoon.

"Sorry-I keep getting them mixed up" Adhara got up for the first time since breakfast and stretched out, wincing as her joints clicked.

"It's fine, have you done all your homework?" Hermione asked to make conversation.

Adhara thought back and racked her brains.

"Homework?" she said after a long pause.

"You haven't done it! Transfiguration is due for tomorrow and it's already two 'o' clock today!" exclaimed Hermione almost dropping the book that she had been getting ready to put on her makeshift bookshelf which was really just the windowsill by Adhara's bed. Adhara had told her she could have it after Hermione's bedside table broke from all the books she had tried to cram in it.

"Well what do we do then?"

"We just have to read the first chapter of _A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration"_ Hermione recited.

"Then I can get away with not doing it if we don't have to hand anything in!" Adhara grinned at her own flawed logic.

"Do it or I'll leave you alone up here to brood on your _own _bed" Hermione had a dangerous tone to her voice that made Adhara jump over to her messy trunk to fish out a copy of the book.

"Fine I'll do it…up here"

"No, we're going down to the common room, you look like you haven't seen human company for years, besides I'd have thought _you'd _have liked the attention" Hermione said rolling her eyes and making towards the dormitory door.

Adhara hung back looking nervous "I'd rather not"

Hermione stopped and walked over to Adhara "Look" she began kindly "I don't know why you fell out with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley but I think that avoiding them is just the easy option, if you come down then you can show them that you're strong. Also I'll help you with the Charms questions-we only have ten but if I help you then we'll be done by half past"

Adhara deliberated this offer "Thanks…why are you being kind to me?"

"You can actually be a pretty nice person when you try to think about what you're saying. I quite like that Adhara"

"Oh, call me Ads" Adhara said as they walked down the stairs.

Thursday came around quick along with the promise of flying lessons. Adhara soon found herself telling stories of her own flying adventures."-and then the guy said…Herms? Are you actually listening?"Hermione was reading _Quidditch Through The Ages_ more intently than Adhara had ever seen her read a book before.

"Yeah sure…sorry I'm just trying to get tips on how not to fall to your death on a broom!" like the other muggle-borns Hermione was terrified at the thought of flying a broom and was currently trying to stock up on information before their flying lesson.

"A book won't stop the Slytherins from shoving you off a broom Hermione"

Adhara looked around to see Professor McGonagall tell Malfoy to give something back to Neville Longbottom and pursed her lips in annoyance at Malfoy. No one could be mean to Neville.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson" Madam Hooch strolled across the Quidditch pitch. She was a stocky, square-jawed witch with short spiky hair and amber eyes.

She looked at each one of them separately before barking out her first order "Now stand by a broom, place your dominant hand over it then say UP!" Madam Hooch clapped her hands together impatiently as the class tried to get their brooms to jump into their hands.

Adhara put her right hand over her battered broom and said "Up!"Nothing happened."Up!" she said again more forcefully. This time it worked and the broom jumped into her hand. Glancing around Adhara could see the rest of the class try to master their own brooms. Next to her Hermione kept shakily commanding her broom to fly into her hand, each failed attempt just seemed to make her more determined.

A little way down Harry was holding his broom and beaming at Ron who had just caught his. Adhara had to catch herself before she shouted out "Nice one!".

Unfortunately Malfoy was clutching a broom and smiling smugly around the Quidditch pitch.

"Right" Madam Hooch said once everyone was holding their brooms "Now I want you to climb onto your broom and grip it tightly" Everyone did as she said "On my whistle I want you to kick off from the ground hard and wait for me at about ten feet in the air, okay?" The class nodded. "Good. Three-two-"

Neville, in all his nervousness, kicked off early. Adhara could see him shoot about twenty feet in too the air. "LONGBOTTOM!" Madam Hooch screeched "Come back down _now!_".Neville whimpered and slowly started to edge back down."Just jump Nev! I'm sure Hermione will catch you!" Adhara shouted as a joke to try and make Neville laugh. Unfortunately it seemed that Neville did not understand that Adhara was kidding. At about ten feat above them Neville took an almighty leap off of the broom towards reacted before Hermione did and quickly dived on her so that Neville wouldn't land on her and for the number of casualties to be kept to a minimum. Neville crumpled as soon as he hit the floor with a hard thump.

"Out of the way, out of the way!" Madam Hooch came charging over to the crying Neville "Come one dear" she said in a soft voice. Neville's face was snow white and tear stained and he clutched his wrist close to his chest.

"No one is to fly while I take Mr Longbottom to the hospital wing, anyone that does will be out of here before they can so much as catch a snitch"

With the help of Madam Hooch poor Neville limped into the castle.

Once they were gone Malfoy and the other Slytherins burst into raucous laughter.

"Did you see the bell-end?" Malfoy asked through the laughter "Look what he left!" Malfoy picked up a small glass ball that was full of swirling white smoke and Adhara was sure that it was what he had had to give back to Neville at breakfast.

"Give it back" a quiet voice said from behind Adhara. The crowd parted to reveal Harry glaring daggers at Malfoy.

Malfoy scanned the air "You know what? I don't think I will-perhaps I'll let him find it himself, what do you think to the forest?"Malfoy suddenly climbed onto his broom and took off into the air, Adhara's heart sank-Malfoy really was a good flier.

Harry stepped forward and got onto his own broom but Hermione quickly stepped in "No Harry! You don't even know how to fly!" she shrieked.

Harry took no notice and jumped into the air on his broom for the first time.

Adhara knew from earlier conversations that Harry had never flown before but she knew that if she hadn't been told then she would never have swooped towards Malfoy then gracefully pulled to a stop in front of him. "I said give it back" he growled."Er…no."The blonde turned away and threw the ball high into the air.

With lightening fast reflexes Harry dived down to get found herself nervously clutching onto Hermione's arm, no one-not even the most natural flier-would be able to pull out of a first time dive like that.

"H-he did it!" Ron shouted "He got the remembrall!"

Every single Gryffindor cheered and ran to pat Harry on the back when he landed.

"Harry Potter!" Professor McGonagall was walking purposefully across the pitch "Come with me".

Silence fell as Harry walked with his head hanging over to Professor McGonagall.

"Ha! Looks like the golden boy is leaving already!"Adhara turned to look at Malfoy who was laughing even more hysterically than when Neville had fallen.

"Perhaps he'll go back to live with those damn muggles! I can't wait to see the back of his head"

For the first time in her life Adhara saw red. Blood thundered through in her ears and she felt the colour rise to her cheeks.

Taking one stride towards Malfoy Adhara raised her fist, swung back and punched.

"Thwack!"

Malfoy's hands flew up to his face and he cried in pain as blood trickled from both nostrils.

At the same time Adhara felt sure that her hand was broken, already her knuckles were turning red and starting to swell but she grinned triumphantly through the pain. Her smile slipped off her face however when she saw Crabbe and Goyle crack their knuckles menacingly.

"Oh shit"

One of them, Adhara wasn't quite sure which one, lunged forward and gave her the same right-hook that she had just given Malfoy except that this punch was directed to the mouth.

"Fuck! Fuck it, fuck! Aaargh!" Adhara swore and spat out blood and something else-something small and solid.

With her tongue she felt an empty space where her front tooth had just been-"No!"

"WANKER!" Ron small punching session had been turned into a full on fight between the Gryffindors and Slytherins with only a few people like Hermione choosing to stay out of the fray.

A screech of "STOP!" halted the fight in its tracks.

Madam Hooch had returned from the hospital wing and was currently charging over to her first year class.

"Stop muggle duelling!"

She was level with them now and her eyes blazed with fiery anger.

"Twenty points off of each house; I have never been so disgusted in my life! Where's Potter?"Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Professor McGonagall took him Miss" Hermione answered first.

"Fine. Now go up to your common rooms and get cleaned up-if you need to then go to the hospital wing"

Slowly the class parted and headed up to their respective common rooms or the great hall. Everyone was sporting some sort of trophy for their effort in the fight, from bloody lips to black eyes everyone but Hermione had something.

"I'm going to the hospital wing Herms" Adhara announced. With a pang of suffering in her voice.

"Why? You look fine to me"

"I'm going to get my tooth back, I refuse to go toothless. Coming?"

"Ads I think it was only a baby tooth if it came out that easily-just let it grow back" Hermione was starting to go into the great hall for dinner.

"But that'll take ages! My other big tooth took about a year, besides I saved this one for Madam Pomfrey" Adhara held up a small white and red object.

"Eurgh! Don't wave it in my face! God I think that one was ready to come out it's got a crack down the middle" Hermione said looking disgusted.

Adhara chuckled "Oh yeah I did that ages ago-ran into a post at the park, y'know cos I'm cool"

"Fine go to the hospital wing! I'm not going with you though"

"You know what I don't think I will go"

They stepped into the great hall. There was a sombre feel hanging in the air over the Gryffindor table. The boy-who-lived was probably leaving Hogwarts now and he'd barely made it two weeks.

Adhara felt her stomach drop as she remembered that Harry probably wouldn't be joining them again.

Would they really kick him out for that? The boy-who-lived get kicked out for flying a broom?

Several heads turned to see Harry shuffling over to the Gryffindor table to sit next to could only catch the gist of their conversation but from the sounds of it he wasn't expelled.

Her heart leapt at the news but sank slightly as she spotted Malfoy sauntering towards them.

"So Potter are you looking forward to going back to live with the muggles? I don't think anyone's only lasted two weeks before" he said smirking.

"They still haven't because I'm not expelled, you're stuck with me for the full seven years" Harry smiled politely in contrast to Malfoy's smug smirk.

"We'll see about that, how about a duel tonight? Midnight in the trophy room-no contact-just wands. Up for it?""Sure"

Malfoy left for his own table without another word and Adhara heard Harry ask Ron what a duel actually was.

Beside her Hermione was fuming.

"I can't believe he would be so stupid-I'm going to tell him not to go" She leaned over to Harry "I can't believe you said yes!"

"What?" Harry asked looking shocked that she knew.

"You can't go-""Yes he can" interrupted Ron.

"No he can't! It's very selfish of him to go!"

"And it's very nosey of you to try and stop me" Harry said.

"Why are we waiting down here? It's almost twelve" Adhara asked for the seventh time that night. Her and Hermione were sat in the empty common room for a reason that Adhara wasn't sure about.

"For justice" Hermione replied without taking her eyes off the ticking clock on the mantle piece.

Adhara rolled her eyes "You keep giving me obscure answers like that, what do they even mean?"

Hermione finally looked away from the clock and at the left hand landing where someone was coming down from.

Harry and Ron emerged from it.

"Oh wait no Herms! I'm not helping you with this" Adhara shook her head and turned away.

"Come to stop us?" Harry asked Hermione coolly.

"Yes I have, I refuse to accept that you would do something so stupid and reckless!" she said shrilly.

"Look, Hermione it's up to them if they want to go so just leave them alone for once" Adhara spoke up against Hermione.

"Thanks Adhara" Ron said stiffly.

Both Harry and Ron turned to go out of the portrait hole but Hermione followed them, hissing at them to stop.

Adhara stood for a moment watching them. Should she go after them? Hermione was her only friend at the moment and she didn't want to risk losing her but on the other hand she didn't really want to risk expulsion.

She stood for another moment before shrugging her shoulders and running after them.

They were a little way down the corridor now and Adhara could see that their were four of them instead of three.

"Neville?" she asked when she got closer "What are you doing here?"

Neville jumped when she spoke "I forgot the password to get back into the common room and the Fat Lady is gone so I still can't get back in"

"Oh, how is your wrist?"

"It's fine now, Madam Pomfrey fixed it right up" Neville held his wrist up to show her.

"Shut up!" Ron whispered "You'll get us caught!"

The castle was a different place at night. Each step they took echoed through the gloomy halls, every corner disappeared into the looming darkness so you could never quite tell what was round the next bend. Out of the windows the inky night sky could be seen along with a smattering of twinkling stars.

They arrived at the trophy room and waited with baited breath. At ten past twelve Ron finally asked what they were all thinking "Where is Malfoy?" no one answered "D'you think he's chickened out?"

Harry paused unsurely "He can't have, this was his idea"

"Unless he just wanted to frame you" Adhara replied with what she had been thinking all night.

Footsteps sounded from the next room and an unpleasant voice spoke "I know you're in here somewhere, come out now"Adhara's heart froze-it was Filch the foul tempered caretaker and he was only around the corner from them.

Harry grabbed her arm and dragged her towards an opposite door which the others were hiding behind.

"Run!" he whispered urgently.

All five of them broke out into a flat sprint around the castle, dodging suits of armour and turning at the twisting corners. Adhara soon lost count of the number of stairs they ran up two steps at a time.

They leapt through a final door and slammed the door shut behind themselves.

Filch's footsteps could be heard pounding after them accompanied by his wheezing breaths."Through here!" Ron said tugging on another door "It's locked! We're done for!"

Hermione stepped forward pushing him out of the way "For heavens sake! _Alohamora_!"

The door swung forward to let them in.

"Shut it!" Adhara told Neville firmly. Neville shut the door. "I reckon we're safe in here"

"Safe? Safe?" Hermione's voice had risen an octave "If you think we're safe Adhara then I suggest that you look over there!"

Before them stood an enormous beast. Three identical heads leered down at them, grinning identical grins and snarling identical snarls. Three pairs of dark eyes stared down at them menacingly and at the same time three identical barks came out from under identical razor sharp teeth.

"Oh shit" Ron said.

All five of them screamed in perfect unison. Deciding that being caught by Filch was preferable to being eaten by a three headed dog they bolted out of the door.

They didn't stop running for at least ten minutes.. Not caring how noisy they were they eventually skidded to a stop in front of the portrait hole where the Fat Lady was snoozing peacefully.

"Canis Major!" Ron shouted at her. She awoke with a start and glared at them all with beady eyes then swung open.

"You really shouldn't be out of bed you know, waking me up like that why-"

Whatever she was saying was cut off when they leapt through into the common room and slammed her shut.

"Th-that was the third floor corridor!" Hermione screeched. Adhara flinched at the noise, she was sure that Hermione's hair was crackling with magic.

"I'm going to bed" Neville murmured shuffling up the stairs to his dormitory with a traumatised expression on his face."What would you have done if we had all been killed?" Hermione them all."Well not much really" replied Ron sarcastically.

"Even worse we could have been expelled!"

"If they find out then I reckon we should get them to pay us compensation or something-I mean did you see that bloody dog!" Adhara exclaimed.

Hermione ignored her "Didn't you see what the dog was standing on?"The other three shrugged."A trap door! It must be guarding something!"None of them said anything."Fine! If you don't care then I'm going to bed, goodnight!"With that she turned around and flounced up the stairs to the girls dormitories.

An awkward silence avoided the eyes of both boys but she could feel Harry's resting on her-burning into her."Thanks" he said "for coming along and stuff" he elbowed Ron in the ribs.

"Yeah, thanks" Adhara lifted her head to look at them "S'okay".Ron looked at her expectantly, Adhara groaned "Do I have to say it?""Yes"

"Fine. Look I'm sorry for shouting at you _but _it was your fault"

Ron's ears turned red "How was it my fault? My dad just overreacted!"

Adhara groaned again "Fine, fine it was my fault. I shouldn't have been such a knob about it. Your dad was obviously just being careful" she then looked at Harry "and sorry for being a dick with you Harry but you did call me one in the first place"

"Because you were acting like one, but it's fine" Harry smiled at her.

"Friends?" Ron said holding out a hand.

Adhara stared at the hand. "Do you even need to ask?" she pulled Ron and Harry into a hug rather than shake the offered hand.**So in my quest to make Adhara a more rounded character I may have made her thoroughly un-likable but alas I guess I'll never know…unless of course you choose to tell me in one of your darling reviews :) **


	5. Of Feathers and Trolls

_**Avertissment-Harry Potter n'est pas le mien…n'est pas non plus Google Translate. Sur le cote du plus mon acien professeur francais devrait etre impressione!**_

_**I never learnt how to put the accents on…**__**Erm, sorry that I didn't update last night but I've started a new drama group and so was kind of caught up :)**_

Of Feathers and Trolls

Adhara sat at the Gryffindor table and struggled not to pass out into her corn flakes from sleep deprivation.

"Did you see Malfoy's face?" Ron asked her plopping down next to her "Wow you look rough!"Their friendship had been restored the previous night when they had decided, along with Harry, Hermione and Neville Longbottom, to take a midnight stroll throughout the castle.

Due to the fact that they had run into Filch and a stray three headed dog they had spent the whole night either running or screaming and the escapade had taken its toll on all five of them.

"Don't push your luck Weasley, you look just as bad" she retorted rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes.

She glanced over to the Slytherin table to see Malfoy glaring furiously at them. He was obviously trying to figure out how they hadn't been expelled.

Harry joined them. "I want to know what was in that vault!" he said.

"No idea mate, I'm more interested in what's under that trapdoor to be honest" Ron replied shrugging his shoulders.

Something clicked in Adhara's head "Hey, it could be whatever was in the vault!" she said excitedly.

Both Harry and Ron burst out laughing

"Ads I doubt that they would keep something important in a _school_" Ron told her."No, no" Adhara pressed on "They always say that Hogwarts is the safest place don't they? Especially with Dumbledore running it"

Harry appeared to be mulling the idea over in his head.

"It's possible" he admitted "I guess if it needs a dog that big then it could be, we should ask Hagrid when we see him next"

The rest of the day was a battle to stay awake. History of Magic was the hardest, barely five minutes in Adhara was snoozing with her head lolling onto Harry's shoulder-it usually took her at least fifteen Hermione would jab her awake but today it seemed that she was determined to ignore her which Adhara couldn't help but be slightly hurt by, especially when she remembered how she had treated Harry and Ron in the last week making her cringe with shame.

The following week Adhara sat contemplating her corn flakes again. _How could they get back at Malfoy?_ she she had been all up for shoving him in with the three headed dog but Harry had vetoed it saying that it was cruel and possibly against the law. Perhaps a potion of some sort? She could slip it into his food!

Flapping sounded over her head as the owls started delivering the post. Dave landed next to her with a letter in his beak."Thanks" Adhara said letting Dave help himself to her tore open the letter recognising the writing as her mothers. It contained the usual talk of how much she was missed back at home and how her mother was trying to clean out her godfathers house.

_-he refuses to let me get rid of those cardigans. He's had them since about fifth year, the same goes for those damn punk records he keeps-I've had enough of hearing the Sex Pistols scream rubbish each time I visit!_

A funny gasping noise came from next to Adhara. She looked over to see Harry gaping at a long thin package that had been placed in front of him.

"D-do you think…?" he trailed off not daring to finish his sentence, he grabbed the letter that had come with it and read."It's from McGonagall" he told them grinning "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand! I have to open it upstairs though"Together they stood up with Ron and sprinted out of the great hall at an alarming the entrance hall they were cut off by Malfoy and his two ape-like cronies."That's a broomstick I can tell. You can't have it Potter you're only a first year-I could have you done for that!"Undisguised glee was creeping onto Malfoy's pointed face."Doubt it" Adhara said quickly "It's from McGonagall you see, special privileges for the youngest seeker in a century"The smirk on Malfoy's face couldn't have slid off faster " You can't" he hissed "Even you Potter can't do this!"Harry merely smiled "You know, I should really thank you though. If you hadn't have stolen Neville's remembrall for me to catch then McGonagall would never have decided to put me on the team so I guess I should say thanks"Malfoy furiously opened his mouth to retort but caught himself when he noticed Professor Flitwick amble out of the Great Hall to go up to his classroom."You win this time Potter" he settled for "Crabbe, Goyle! Come!"He stalked off with his two bodyguards leaving Harry, Ron and Adhara to race up to their common room.

Once in the boys dormitory they unwrapped the package.

Inside lay a sleek broom with perfectly neat tail twigs and a wonderful polished handle. Towards the top of the handle was _Nimbus Two Thousand _written in an elegant gold script.

"Wow" Ron sighed enviously staring at the beauty that lay before herself was struggling not to drool over the broom."Boys, I think I just had an orgasm"Her revelation was met with an awkward silence that Adhara herself didn't quite feel."So" Harry said after some time "I reckon we should be getting to Transfiguration"Reluctantly the left the broom locked safe in Harry's trunk to await it's first use later that week.

"Ads were you even meant to be in the boys dormitory?" Ron asked when they reached the queue outside their Transfiguration classroom."Lord knows" she answered "But I do know that I am in love with that broom"Both Ron and Harry nodded their agreements before proceeding to file into class.

Throughout the lesson Adhara could almost feel Harry's longing to see his Nimbus radiating from him. It was obvious that he wasn't concentrating on turning his button into a beetle and Adhara was sure that she heard Professor McGonagall mutter something about blaming herself completely for it.

"Knight to E-Four. Check mate!" Ron smirked as his knight smashed Adhara's king to smithereens with a squeaky braying noise.

"Ron Weasley you complete bitch" she smiled bitterly. It was about half past seven and they were sat in the common room waiting for Harry to return from his first Quidditch practice."What position would you play?" she asked Ron before setting up their next game of chess.

"Hmm" Ron said looking up and thinking "I think maybe Keeper-at least that is what my brothers always make me play at home""You any good?"

"Decent. Not as good as Harry or anything and Charlie and the twins are much better but I reckon in a few years I could make the team, what do you play?"

"Chaser, perhaps next year we could go for the team together?" Adhara glanced at Ron hopefully.

"Yeah…perhaps" he replied although Adhara could hear a distinct reluctance in his voice and noticed his ears turn slightly red at the prospect. It looked like she would be going on her own.

"Hey Ron!" the twins came sauntering over to the two of them "Harry's at practice with Wood right?""Yeah" Ron was looking slightly sullen with the twins' presence.

"Is he as good as they say?" one of them-was it Fred?- enquired.

""Very" Ron almost bragged "Maybe even better than Charlie"

"Oooh I wouldn't say that at home Ronnie" the first one grinned wickedly "I hope it doesn't come up in one of our letters to him"

"Right can you just fuck off Fred! Go annoy somebody else for a change!" Ron snapped angrily, accidentally knocking over a line of pawns.

"How do you know that I'm Fred?" the twin asked looking affronted.

"Because you're so damn annoying! Now fuck off!" he exclaimed setting the grumbling pawns upright once again.

George shook his head and said chirpily "Now, now Ronnie-kins don't forget your manners"

Ron sent his a venomous glare "Fine then-fuck off _please_"

"Well we'll take what we're given, cheerio girls" the twins headed off to the other side of the common room and engaged in an animated conversation with their friend Lee Jordan.

"I really hate them sometimes!" Ron exploded viscously. "They always have to do this don't they? It wouldn't be so bad if they could just do it to someone else for a change but it is always me!"

Adhara shrugged not really knowing what to say. She didn't have any siblings herself so she had never had to deal with one before.

The next few weeks passed in a chaotic whir. Adhara was finally finding herself sink into the fast-paced life style that came with living at Hogwarts as were all the other first year students. Unfortunately it also seemed that the teachers had cottoned onto the fact that the first years were getting quite comfortable and they seemed determined to put a stop to that.

By piling on the homework they were ensuring that no student was able to go a weekend without having some sort of tedious task to be handed in sometime during the week.

Due to the newly busy regime Adhara found that time was passing disturbingly quickly and before she knew what hit her it was already Halloween.

"Damn it smells good" Ron sighed as they left the great hall to the delectable smell of the feast that was wafting from the kitchens for later that night. Adhara's mind drifted back home. She never really did much for Halloween herself. Every Halloween without fail her mother and godfather would both come across as thoroughly depressed over something unknown; Adhara wasn't one hundred percent sure, but she was convinced that she heard her mother leave the house when she was meant to be asleep.

They sat down in their usual seats at the back of the Charms classroom hoping to spend the lesson talking and joking about as they mastered their next spell; it seemed that tiny Professor Flitwick had a different idea though as he tottered around the class to place them into pairs.

Harry was partnered with Seamus Finnigan and due to the odd number of pupils in the class Adhara and Ron were forced into a group with Hermione.

Adhara herself didn't mind too much but it Ron was livid and seemed to be taking his annoyance out on his poor feather that they were meant to be levitating.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he cried for the third time. The feather remained stationary.

Adhara herself wasn't having much luck either. Her feather was stubbornly bowing to the force of gravity like everyone else's in the class.

"I reckon my feather is a bit dodgy, do you think I should ask for a new one?" Adhara asked Ron after her fourth attempt.

Hermione answered for him "No I don't, it's more to do with you than the feather, and Ron" she added in what sounded like an attempt to be kind but instead came off as patronising "You're just saying it wrong. It's Win-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa. You're emphasising on the wrong syllables is all"

Ron's reaction left a lot to be desired "Fine!" he snapped "You do it, then, if you know everything! Go on!"

A determined look graced Hermione's face as she lifted up her wand and said "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Slowly the feather began to rise off the desk and into the air above all their heads.

"Ooh well done Miss Granger!" squealed Professor Flitwick happily "Look class, Miss Granger's done it!"

Hermione smiled smugly in Ron's direction and Adhara noticed her face fall when Ron sent her a nasty glare.

On the way out from Charms Ron let loose "How can you stand her Ads? She's a nightmare! I'm not surprised you're her only friend!"

"I know Ron" Adhara herself was rather annoyed with the girl at the moment "Sometimes I wonder why I bother with her"

Someone charged past them with a sob. One glance of their bushy hair told Adhara that it was Hermione.

"I think she heard you" Harry pointed out quietly.

"Yeah I think she did" Adhara felt guilt spread through her like a disease that made her stomach churn the feast Parvati and Lavender could be heard gossiping about Hermione.

"Where is she?" Adhara asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"Bathroom-crying" Lavender told her in a hushed whisper.

Adhara met Ron and Harry's eyes and felt the guilt spread even deeper into her mind. She tried to push it from her mind and focus on her food like she usually did when she did something wrong at home. She was just tucking into her Eton Mess when the doors to the hall slammed open.

Professor Quirrel was pounding down the middle of the hall, his turban bobbing dangerously atop his head.

"TROLL! TROLL-IN THE DUNGEONS!" he bawled as he ran. Coming to a stop in front of Professor Dumbledore he quickly keeled over with a soft "Oh".

A few seconds of silence passed. Suddenly someone from the far corner screamed and the pandemonium started. Some people started jumping from their seats and crying whereas some just stayed where they were and grabbed their friends. Down at the Hufflepuff table one girl had actually climbed down beneath the table to hide and was currently rocking backwards and forwards with her head in her hands; Adhara looked at her fellow Gryffindors and was almost glad to note that she wasn't the only one biting back the bizarre urge to laugh.

"Silence" Professor Dumbledore was stood up in front of the staff table "Prefects" he carried on calmly once the silence had fallen "will lead their house to their dormitories and Professors will follow me to the dungeon"

"Over here Gryffindors! Over here, follow me!" Adhara heard Percy order over the clatter of movement.

They were being swept up the staircase by the large crowd when Harry asked "How could a troll get in?"

"No idea" Ron said "I thought they were meant to be really thick"

"Probably let in as a joke" Adhara added waiting for a gaggle of harried looking Ravenclaws pass.

"Wait!" Harry exclaimed grabbing both of their arms "Hermione! She's still in the girls bathroom!"

All three of them shared the same look of horror-Hermione didn't know about the troll!

Quickly they spun around and started scurrying down the staircase down to the dungeons where the girls toilets would be.

The sheer stupidity of them running straight towards the troll didn't register in Adhara's mind as they sprinted through one corridors in the dark underground of the castle.

Like a brick wall the smell hit them, putrid and sickening it wafted down towards them like a noxious gas. It reminded Adhara of the smell that came from a jar that she had once smashed in Snape's class in a revolt against his unfair marking system.

Gagging she led the boys behind a niche and waited for the scents owner to turn the corner.

The troll lumbered past them waggling it's little ears. It was about twelve feet tall with an appearance to match its awful smell, bumpy grey skin covered its enormous body. A large wooden club swung from its long arm like a grotesque babies rattle.

"Harry, Ron" Adhara said trying to keep her voice level "I do not mean to alarm you but it appears to be heading into the girls bathroom"

In a split second decision the four of them charged into the girls bathroom with out a second thought.

On the opposite side of the room Hermione was backing away from the advancing beast and into a corner where she cowered with wide eyes, a small call of "Help!" issued from her mouth when she saw them race in.

"Oi! Over here you big lump!" Ron yelled at it, waving his arms in the air.

The troll slowly turned round to search for the source of the noise; it lay its beady eyes on Ron and grinned goofily.

With a grunt it started moving towards him but before it could get there Adhara threw a bar of soap at its head. Though the bar of soap didn't seem to bother it as much as the yell it did bend down to inspect the flying hygiene product. As it made its way towards the far off floor Harry darted behind it and in a move that was as reckless it was graceful dived onto its shoulders.

"Harry! What the fuck are you doing?" Adhara asked incredulously during the mid throw of a toilet roll.

Harry didn't reply but instead decided to jam his wand up the trolls nostril.

Now Adhara was no expert but even she couldn't help but wonder if it was really a good idea to shove a twelve inch piece of highly volatile wood up an out of control monsters nose.

The beast roared with pain before lifting its knobbly club above its head to swing at Harry.

At the side of her Ron made the same move with his wand but instead of grunting he shouted the only spell in his arsenal.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club left the trolls hand and for a moment was suspended in mid air. The troll looked up to see where his weapon had disappeared to just in time to feel it smash into its face with a ghastly crunch.

Swaying dizzily it let Harry drop then dropped onto the floor landing just a couple of inches from where Hermione was standing.

"Is it dead?" was the first question asked.

"Dunno" Adhara replied " Perhaps we should check-Ron, go check"

"No you check"

"No-"

"Fine I'll check!" Harry edged forward and stepped over one of the trolls thick legs.

Crouching down he grabbed for his wand and started wiggling it out. There was a rumbling gurgle and Harry jumped back about a foot away from the troll.

"No" he said "It's just unconscious-eurgh!"He held up his wand which was coated in a thick layer of slimy grey bogies.

"Don't come near me with that thing, Potter!" Adhara cried wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Thankfully Harry wiped the snot off on the trolls tattered trousers.

"We should probably go back up to the dormitory" Ron commented turning towards the door.

Before he could open it though it flew open of its own accord and Professor McGonagall charged in with Snape and Professor Quirrel.

Without hardly looking at the troll Professor Quirrel had to sit down on one of the toilets seats.

"W-why aren't you in your common room?" she asked furiously. Adhara was almost scared by the anger that was forming across her face, her lips were almost non-existent and her nostrils looked ready to blow out smoke.

Harry opened his mouth to explain.

"P-professor McGonagall" a small voice squeaked from the corner, Hermione spoke for the first time that night "They were looking for me" Professor McGonagall stared at her disbelievingly but Hermione ploughed on as though fearing that if she stopped she wouldn't be able to carry on.

"I came down here for the troll because I thought I could handle it-but I couldn't. Harry, Ron and Adhara defeated it quickly enough without my help…if they hadn't found me then I-I would probably be dead"

Adhara had to resist the temptation to scrub out her ears-was Hermione Granger really lying to a teacher?

Professor McGonagall regained her composure before drawing her self up to her full height "Well Miss Granger that was an incredibly foolish and dangerous thing to do on your part and I am _very _disappointed in you, five points from Gryffindor" Next she surveyed her other three students "However, if it had not been for the actions of your comrades here then things would have turned out an awful lot worse than having few smashed sinks, five points shall be awarded to each of you. Now you may go to your common rooms"

On her way out Adhara noticed Snape shoot all four of them particularly cruel glares.

They walked up to the common room in complete silence that was only broken by the odd cough or swish of their robes.

"Silly Skeletons" Harry told the Fat Lady. She swung open to admit them into the Gryffindor common room.

Harry and Adhara both jumped through easily, Ron however hung back.

"Need some help?" he asked Hermione who always looked like she struggled to get up through the hole.

Hermione's face split into a wide smile and her eyes shone ever so slightly in the dark. "Yes please" she replied.

Ron nodded and with a small smile he instructed Hermione to put her foot into his cupped hands.

"Thanks"

"S'alright"

After a few seconds they parted ways to their respective dormitories.

"Night Herms" Adhara yawned "Wait for us in the morning, will you?"

Hermione looked at Adhara "You mean you actually want to hang out with me?" she said hopefully.

"Sure. We are friends you know? You're not escaping from us now!"

**Any good?**


	6. Of Cursed Brooms and Burning Teachers

_**Diclaimer: The only time it is ever mine is when I'm using a chat-up line but even then people don't believe me.**_

**Yes it's late. I had a mini panic attack that the chapter wasn't good enough and rather stupidly decided to delete it so I had to re-write it all which took a fair bit longer than expected because I lost my writing mojo (still trying to find it actually) and am now right into GCSE season which unfortunately means that updates are going to be a bit thin on the ground for a while now so apologies in advance.**

**P.S I know that no one asked but just in case: Adhara's name comes from a star that's part of the Canis Major constellation (like Sirius) and was once the brightest star in our universe. I just thought that it fit in with the star naming theme without sounding too pretentious or daft. You see, I did do my research!**

_Dear Adhara_

_A troll? You fought a troll! Adhara I can hardly describe how furious I am with you right now, you are very lucky that I'm not there to say all this in person! Why couldn't you have just told a teacher that the girl was in the toilets, they could easily have sorted things out.I sincerely hope that you do not plan on doing anything so reckless or there will be hell to pay young lady!_

_Much LoveMum xxx_

_**Dear Mum Why is everyone reacting like this? None of us were hurt! In fact if it hadn't been for me, Harry and Ron then Hermione would have died - you should be proud of how brave and clever I was! How many first years do you know that can bring down a fully grown mountain troll and not get a scratch on them?I personally think that it was the cleverest thing to do due to the lack time to go and get a teacher, we panicked but it doesn't even matter because we are all fine! Besides you can't be too angry if you left three kisses can you?**_

_**LoveAdhara xxx**_

Two days had passed since the incident with the troll and Adhara was proud that Hermione hadn't killed any of them yet, though sometimes she looked awfully close.

"I can genuinely feel my IQ drop each time I approach the three of you" Hermione complained after hearing an argument over who would win in a fight between Snape and shampoo, she was smiling though.

It was the day before Harry's first Quidditch match and the weather had taken a definite downturn in response. The four of them were wandering down the chilly charms corridor, Harry and Hermione trotting to keep up with Ron and Adhara's easy strolls.

"I am _not _going outside it's freezing" moaned Adhara who was watching her breath turn into mist in front of her.

"Well it is November. What did you expect?" Hermione asked as she stepped out into the frost covered pulled a small jar of bluebell flames out of her robes "I the spell in a book, it's not against the rules-I checked"

Though she wasn't as bad as she used to be Hermione was still very wary of the school rules. The ones that had been broken during her rescue from the troll had been more than enough for her.

"Blimey" Ron said looking torn between admiration and exasperation "You don't half like that library, d'you?"Hermione smiled dryly "It's like a second home to me, Ron"

"You're not kidding" Adhara laughed "I've seen you get high off the smell of those books, Herms"

"Actually," excitement shone in Hermione's eyes as she shared knowledge "there is a type of fungus that grows in the bindings of books and it causes a legal high-"

Ron rolled his eyes "Just knowing that is weird" he told her as Adhara nodded.

"Oh honestly! It's no different than you and your chess set"

"And that's not exactly normal" Harry, who had been engrossed in a book, finally spoke.

Adhara quirked her eyebrows "Harry, why the hell are you reading out of class?" she asked "Is Hermione brainwashing you or something?"

Harry took a moment to answer before carefully marking the passage he was on "It's Quidditch through the ages, Wood reckons it'd do me some good to memorise the rules and fouls"

"_Memorise?_" Ron and Adhara asked in unison."How will you memorise all that in one day?" Ron said gaping.

"He can do it if he puts his mind to it and you two shut up for once" Hermione replied for him.

It was Adhara's turn to roll her eyes. As she did though something caught them. "Heads up" she muttered "Snape's coming"

The four of them shifted round to cover the jar of flames, Snape would find some obscure rule banning them if he saw them.

It took only one look to see the professor's heavy limp.

"Potter? What are you holding?" he asked with a voice dripping in malice.

Harry pulled out the book "A book, sir"

"Don't point out what is already obvious" Snape snapped "Library books are not to be taken into the grounds, five points from Gryffindor"

He turned to limp away from them with the library book in hand.

"Git" Ron muttered under his breath.

"Yeah" Harry breathed "What do you reckon is wrong with his leg?"

Hermione frowned "I don't know" she said "It was like that on Halloween"

"Well let's hope it stays that way" Ron echoed Adhara's thoughts exactly."Can't we just set his hair on fire? It would get him out of the way and I'm pretty sure that grease is flammable" she asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not!" Hermione screeched with flashing eyes. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"It's not a bad idea actually. It would save us a lot of bother and I still haven't done that essay for him" Harry muttered darkly just as Ron said "Lighten up a little Hermione".

Adhara grinned "We could claim it was the grief of losing our beloved potions master. See Hermione?" she said "The scar has spoken"

"The scar?" Harry asked.

"Adhara it makes no difference what type of feather you are using just so long as you actually try to do the spell correctly!"

Hermione appeared to be getting rather impatient with Adhara's lack of progress in levitating her feather. It was evening and Adhara was draped across the sofa as Hermione tried to instruct her through her Charms work.

"Oh piss off. I can't be arsed to do it. Flitwick's soft, he won't care" Adhara twirled her wand in the air and grinned when sparks flew out of it.

Hermione looked positively outraged "Adhara! You're failing Charms!"

"I'm not _failing_ as such, I can't be any worse than Harry and he's not exactly bad"

"Well you will be failing if you carry on like this! Now try again or I'll _make _you" Hermione threatened.

Unfortunately Adhara saw straight through the bluff "Ooh I'm really scared" she said sarcastically with her hands raised in front of her in mock defence.

Laughing she glanced towards Harry to ask him about Quidditch.

"Wait, where's Potter?" she asked upon seeing his empty chair.

Ron looked up from his Transfiguration essay "He went to get his book back, he left like ten minutes ago so he should be on his way back by now"

Right on cue Harry stepped through the portrait hole. He looked like Adhara had felt after her godfather had taken her aside to explain what the woman wearing the dressing gown had been doing in his kitchen so early in the morning. "What's up?" queried Ron.

Harry sunk into the nearest arm chair and took a few deep breaths "Snape and Filch were in the staff room…a-alone-"

"NO!" Adhara shouted whilst Ron fell off her chair in fits of laughter and Hermione stifled several small giggles. "Eurgh! Please don't tell me they were-"

"No!" Harry interrupted looking shocked "No it wasn't like that! It's about the leg, it was all bloody and Filch was just helping bandage it"

"Then what?" Hermione said sharply. Ron and Adhara had finally stopped laughing and were peering at Harry with the same concerned expressions.

"Well Snape said something about three heads-I think he meant the dog. Look, I know it sounds mad, but I reckon that Snape let that troll in for Halloween - as a diversion! He wants whatever that dog is guarding I'm sure!"

Hermione didn't seem convinced "I doubt it Harry. He _is _a teacher after all-"

"Christ Herms" Ron butted in "Being a teacher doesn't make him an angel, I mean I seriously doubt that Snape is Gabriel in disguise"

"I never much liked Gabriel," Adhara commented glancing at her nails "Now I know why"

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that as a teacher he wouldn't be foolish enough to try and steal something that Professor Dumbledore himself is protecting"

Adhara didn't say anything. Personally she thought that Harry had the best grasp of the situation but she didn't really want to upset Hermione. Hermione was still new to their little group and Adhara had found herself trying to protect her slightly, even if it wasn't always obvious.

"I dunno, I agree with Harry, _but_" she said carefully "I think that first we need to find out what that dog is guarding"

"Well _you_ would!" Hermione snapped angrily.

"Herms, please don't be angry"

They stayed up relatively late that night. Harry was made to go to bed earlier on the command of Wood but even after he was gone they carried on discussing the dog.

"Well I just think that we should keep an eye on Snape from now on" Adhara finished right before bed.

Ron and Hermione nodded.

"Oh Herms" Adhara said climbing into bed "Do you still have the instructions for that boil curing solution?"

Hermione looked at her suspiciously, she was still annoyed about Adhara siding with Harry. "Yes…why?"

"I just want to retry making it over the weekend is all"

"Oh" she looked pleasantly surprised "Well in that case I'll get it now!"

"Thanks, do you remember which step Neville missed out? I don't much fancy getting covered in boils myself"

"Five"

Adhara was comfortable. So very, very comfortable. _'Was' _being the key word.

"Adhara, get up!" Hermione called over to her early in the morning.

"Unnghff" It was far too early. Adhara didn't want to be seeing Hermione's face loom over her, she was meant to be seeing the inside of her eyelids instead.

"Piss off" she grumbled through the covers.

Hermione frowned "Charming. Come on you have to get up for Harry - it's his first Quidditch match! Do you want Gryffindor to lose?"

She rolled over "Herms I doubt that the fate of the match rests entirely upon my shoulders"

"Well you'll feel bad if it turn out that it does, won't you?"

"I don't know. Let's find out"

"Up in five seconds or I'll force you. Five-" Hermione held up her hand and started counting down on her fingers.

"Like you'd do it"

"-four-"

"Good night"

"-three-"

"I yawn in your general direction"

"-two-"

"Must we argue like this?"

"-one. Wingardium Leviosa" Hermione waved her wand towards Adhara's quilt and brought it flying up into the air.

Adhara screamed and curled in on herself.

"I could have been naked!" she cried diving for the bed covers.

"I wouldn't put that past you somehow"

Fifteen minutes later Adhara was fully dressed and eating a sausage sandwich.

The others were carefully cajoling Harry into eating as well but due to his immense nerves he was refusing. "Adhara" Hermione muttered nudging her in the ribs "Help us comfort your best friend"

"_Best_ friend? I don't know, I'm closer to you and Ron really" she yawned.

"Adhara!" Hermione warned "Help him, he helped you when you fell out with Ron"

Adhara thought about that. It was Hermione who had been there for her the most, though Harry had told her how daft she was being. He was the one that had started the guilt tripping that made them friends once more.

Harry was staring down at his empty plate with an expression akin to horror on his thin face. "Look Harry" she sighed tiredly "I know that you're worried you'll fall to your death in front of a crowd of laughing spectators but I've seen you fly - you're amazing. Also I doubt that Wood will be laughing if you fall, I can't promise about the Slytherins though"

After several deep breaths Harry finally faced her with the beginnings of a grateful smile "How did you know?" he asked quietly.

Adhara raised an eyebrow "Mind reading, it's a burden as much as a blessing dear"

Deciding to humour her Harry said "What am I thinking now?"

"You're looking at me and thinking 'Yep, I'd bang her'""I was actually looking a little to the left of you" he replied nodding at Ron.

Eleven O' clock struck and everyone jumped up to make their to the Quidditch Pitch. Adhara herself had only seen one Quidditch match before and that had only been her local , Ron and Hermione climbed the stands and eventually stood next to the other Gryffindor first years who were all babbling excitedly.

To boost their seeker's morale they had painted a large banner on which Dean Thomas had done most of the work whilst the others only really had fun with the paints.

Emblazoned across it was "Potter-The Boy Who Caught". Admittedly it was an awful title but no one have dared to tell Adhara that to her face. Especially not when they had just seen her paint a thin, pink line down Hermione's face.

"Reckon we're in with a good chance you know" Ron said rubbing his hands together to generate warmth.

"I've never seen a Quidditch match actually" added Hermione who was craning her neck to see over Lavender Brown's enormous hair bow.

"Shut up, it's starting!" Seamus Finnigan said from behind them.

Indeed Madam Hooch was currently forcing Oliver Wood to shake hands with the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint and the entire stadium had fallen silent.

Adhara didn't hear the whistle blow from all the way down on the pitch but within seconds the players were up in the air and a red figure darted towards the Slytherin goal posts."Whoop! They're off and already Angelina Johnson has possession of the Quaffle - thank Merlin!" Gryffindor Lee Jordan was doing the commentating with Professor McGonagall stood by his side in hope of quelling any bias.

Angelina sped along the pitch and hurled the ball towards Alicia Spinnet "New to the team this year" Jordan commented "Only just made it due to commitments to Gobstones club".

Adhara's neck switched from side to side as the players passed between the players at a dizzying Quaffle was back under Angelina's arm before Flint pulled to a stop right in front of her and made for the ball as she fumbled to stay on her broom."Yes! Angelina scored! Take that Slytherin! I hope she knows that that's not the only thing she scored" Lee added with an exaggerated wink.

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall warned. "I can easily find someone else to commentate if I need to!"

"You know you'd miss me Professor" Lee replied with a sweet smile.

"However would I cope?" she said dryly "Now pay attention!"

"Can I squeeze in?" a familiar voice asked.

"Hey Hagrid!" Adhara called as Hagrid tried to fit in between her and Ron.

"Ow's he doin'?" Hagrid asked squinting onto the pitch where Harry could be seen hovering high above everyone else.

"Fine, he hasn't had much to do yet though" Ron said.

"He'll be keepin outta trouble I expect".

The game went on as it had started. Gryffindor continued to score, Lee continued to flirt and Professor McGonagall kept up a steady stream of threats again him.

"Oh my God! Potter's going for the snitch!" Lee alerted the crowd, and the Slytherin seeker, of.

"Get it Harry!" Adhara screamed.

Harry was speeding after a small glint of gold, out flying the older Slytherin seeker by far. He was almost there - just a little further…

BAM!

Marcus Flint had pulled to a stop right in front of Harry blocking him and letting the snitch fly off into centre of the stadium.

"Knob-head!" Lee shouted into his microphone.

"Jordan! Ten points from Gryffindor for such language!" Professor McGonagall said as she picked up her hat which had fallen off when she had jumped up to scream at Flint.

"But that dick-head-"

"Ten more points!"

"Why are you taking points off me? I'm not the young offender that almost killed our seeker over there!"

McGonagall didn't reply. She merely closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples.

"That's got to be a foul!" Ron shouted over everyone's head. "Foul, foul, foul…"

The chanting picked up with the rest of the Gryffindors and eventually passed over to the Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaws until three quarters of the stadium was chanting "Foul, foul, foul".

Madam Hooch eventually blew her whistle and Gryffindor was awarded a penalty which Katie Bell took and passed through the middle golden hoop.

"He's not fallen has he?" Neville asked from behind his hands.

"Nah, he'll be fine" Adhara told him.

"I think you spoke too soon Adhara" Seamus said pointing at Harry's airborne figure.

He was bucking from side to side, sometimes he would fly up violently before smashing back down towards the ground.

"He's lost control of the broom!" said Hagrid.

"What did Flint do?" Parvati asked looking terrified.

"Nothin" Hagrid said firmly "That's dark magic it is. Far beyond a kids talents"

Hermione gasped and made for the binoculars in Dean's hands.

"Look at Snape!"

Ron and Adhara took it in turns to look at Snape who was talking under his breath and looking intently at Harry.

"He's jinxing it!" Adhara cried angrily.

"Come with me!" Hermione said grabbing Adhara's wrist and dragging her out along the stands.

"What about me?" Ron asked waving the binoculars.

"Where the fuck are you taking me Herms!"

"To save Harry!"

They stopped for a second to peer through a slit in the wood when the crowd collectively screamed. Harry was dangling from his broom by one they groaned and carried on running.

Within the minute they were underneath the staff stands. "Follow me" Hermione whispered to Adhara.

They crept up into the stand and crossed past Professor Quirrell who's eyes were watering slightly. "Stop!" Hermione flung her arm out and knocked Adhara into Professor Quirrell. Adhara didn't bother to help him up whilst Hermione crouched low by Snape and muttered "Incendio"

Bright flames shot out her wand and slowly started licking their way up Snape's robes.

They didn't stop to see him notice them but the angry yelp that sounded once they were under the stands again told them that he had started feeling the burn.

Through the same crack as before they could see Harry heave himself onto his broom and start flying again.

Hermione giggled slightly "We did it!"

"You did it" Adhara corrected her also giggling "I thought you said no setting Snape on fire!"

"I set his robes on fire, not his hair! It was much less likely to kill him" Hermione replied through deep pants.

"That's why you dragged me along isn't it? So you could blame me if he died" Adhara laughed.

"I thought you could've moaned your way out of it. If not them I could have just claimed that you put me up to it!"

They were back at the Gryffindor stands now. "I knew there was a reason I liked you Herms!"

"Where were you two!" Ron asked furiously "Harry almost died up there and you two are laughing!"

"I was just accompanying Herms as she set fire to teachers" said Adhara breezily.

"It's not funny!"

Hermione joined them "Oh lighten up a little Ron!" she joked with a smirk.

"Why couldn't you take me?" he queried indignantly.

"Because apparently I'm better at moaning"

"Look!" shouted a tear stained Neville.

Harry was flying towards the ground and collapsed onto the pitch.

He was on all fours and heaving. Something could be seen popping out of mouth and into his hands…something gold.

"Potter has the snitch! Gryffindor wins!" Lee threw his arms around Professor McGonagall.

"Get off of me Jordan!"

Hermione, Ron and Adhara raced towards Harry on the pitch and each hugged him.

"We won!"

"Never. Pr'fessor Snape would never curse Harry's broom" Hagrid said flatly.

They were huddled in his hut and Harry was drinking his way through a strong mug of steaming tea.

"We know what we saw! _Hermione_ knows what she saw!" Adhara argued earnestly.

"Nonsense! He's not the nicest bloke but he wouldn't try an kill a student"

They exchanged uneasy glances.

"Look, Hagrid" Harry began "I overheard him in the staff room. He's trying to get past that three headed dog-"

Hagrid's eyes widened "Ow do yeh know about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy? _Who named that thing Fluffy?" Ron asked incredulously.

"As a matter 'o' fact I did. He's mine and I lent im to Dumbledore to guard…the…never mind"

"The what?"

"Nothin' it's guarding nothin'"

"It is!" said Hermione "And Snape is trying to steal it!"

Adhara raised an eyebrow "Well you've changed your tune, haven't you?"

"Well now I know that Snape was cursing Harry! I've read all about jinxes and curses and Snape was definitely performing one."

"Well you're wrong" Hagrid said folding his arms. "I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that but I can promise that it wasn't because of Snape! And as for the dog yeh can forget that! Whatever it is guarding is between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel!"

"So it _is _guarding something now?" Harry said.

"No-"

"And it's got something to do with Nicolas Flamel?" piped up a smiling Ron.

"No-"

"Thanks for the help Hagrid!" Hermione added brightly.

"And we'll tell you if we see Snape hanging around any broom closets" finished Adhara.

**One question after a very long chapter. Have I made Adhara too bitchy?**


	7. Interlude: A Model Student

_**Disclaimer-My English teacher said it's not mine so I couldn't hand it in for homework.**_**Just because this wouldn't fit anywhere else and I have seven exams so this is an apology note for the delay :)Also the Christmas chapter should be coming up soon enough, I just can't think of a decent name for it. **

Interlude: The Model Student

Adhara crept along the dank corridor. It was cold and wet and made her shiver but there was a job to be done.

She slipped into one of the many potions classrooms and sat down by a desk before pulling a small cauldron and several potion ingredients out of her bag.

"What are you doing Black?" a sneering voice asked from behind.

Adhara whipped round and slapped on her sweetest smile. "Just remaking my boil curing solution Professor" she told Snape through gritted teeth "I don't believe that I performed as well as I could have so I'm here to buck up my ideas and put the extra work in, is that alright sir?"

Snape's reply consisted of a disbelieving noise and a raised eyebrow. He stalked off to his office.

"Hmph" Adhara shuddered slightly at the man's hair and her own sickeningly sweet voice.

Peering at the sheet of parchment in front of her she followed the instructions carefully. Circled in gleaming red ink was step five _'Take your cauldron off the fire then add three crushed porcupine quills'_

Next to it she had written _**'Two quills, other way round'**__. _

Adhara lit another smaller fire and placed a tiny but strong glass vial atop it.

Very, very carefully she spooned a portion of the potion into said glass vial and let it simmer for almost a minute before dropping two porcupine quills into it. She had decided on two in the fear that three would be too strong and break the vial or poison the people the potion was meant for.

Several green sparks flew from the purple potion as it turned to a sickly green colour.

Blanching at the stench Adhara took it off the fire with a pair of metal tongs and shoved a bung down the neck.

Once the second fire had been doused and the concoction placed in her satchel Adhara went back to her original potion and followed the rest of the steps in the correct order.

Upon finishing she ladled the perfect potion into a large glass beaker and placed it on Snape's desk along with a messily wrapped bottle that read _'Merry Christmas, use this well' _in an almost illegible scrawl that had come from Adhara's left hand.

Allowing herself a smug smile Adhara almost skipped out of the potions classroom with a swish of her robes and flick of her hair. Her job was done.


	8. Of Photos and Christmas Deals

_**Disclaimer: Again it's er…it's not mine, but one day I may surprise you and claim that it is!**_

**P.S. I really, really hated writing this chapter so I apologise if it's kind of crap, though it's rather ridiculous as I had been looking forward to it immensely. But in the end I'm oddly proud of it. I think it shows a more vulnerable and sweeter side to GCSEs almost killed me and have come back to have another go. I hate re-sits! Also ten brownie points to the first person to spot the Pulp reference.**

Like late November, December came in with a flurry of snow that coated the grounds like a fluffy, if exceptionally cold, blanket.

With the snow had come a sweep of chilly northern air that made people huddle together for warmth during potions class; to match the freezing weather there was also a definite coolness in the air since Slytherin's defeat in the Quidditch match. Several times Adhara had heard a Slytherin hiss something disturbingly violent towards Harry as they passed in the corridors.

As the holidays drew nearer McGonagall made way down the Gryffindor table to take a list of who would be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas and who would be going home. Adhara would be going home as opposed to staying, as would Hermione. On the last day before the holidays began the Great Hall was revealed to have been decorated beautifully. Twelve giant Christmas trees lined the walls, decorated with garlands of holly, a selection of brightly coloured bows and baubles and even live fairies.

As they left the hall Hagrid sidled up behind them."Alrigh'?" he asked them "Won't be long before the holiday now, would it?"

"No, it's our last day today" Harry replied "It'll be good to have some time off"Hermione jumped in at this "Actually we have a bit of time before me and Adhara have to finish packing - why don't we go to the library?""Oh do we have to?" Adhara groaned. Ever since Hagrid had let slip about Nicolas Flamel they had been spending all their spare time combing through books in hope of finding his identity, so far they had had no such luck. She also desperately needed to start packing before the next day. Hermione had been pestering her to do so for about a week but Adhara had still not even considered the idea of doing so until Hermione's suggestion of a trip to the library. "Yes, we do" answered Harry who had been just as interested as Hermione about Flamel.

Hagrid looked puzzled "Why do yeh need teh go the library? It's yer last day!" Adhara quickly started nodding along with him as did Ron who was gazing longingly out of the window at the glistening snow.

"To try and find out about Nicolas Flamel, of course!" Harry said brightly.

"Look - yeh don't need teh know about Flamel! He's none of yer business!" Hagrid appeared to be getting rather flustered.

"We're only curious Hagrid" Hermione said with innocent eyes and a wide smile.

Hagrid merely shook his head and started walking out into the snowy grounds to his hut, muttering "I should never have said it!"

Once in the dark, musty library they started searching for the name Nicolas Flamel in one of the many dust encrusted tombs.

Where Hermione had devised a clever table according to subject and place in the alphabet, Ron had decided to just walk between the shelves and flick through any random book that took his Harry and Adhara had both chosen rather different ways to search; Harry had been slowly working his way down the shelves and trying to read each book from cover to cover. Adhara on the other hand soon figured out that she preferred staring either into space or playing exploding snap with herself.

Their plight eventually ended when a bang sounded and Harry came walking briskly towards them from behind a shelf that was billowing with smoke."Time to go, come on quick. Don't make eye-contact with anyone, just leave!" he muttered dragging Hermione away from her latest find.

The next morning Adhara was awoken much earlier than she would have appreciated on a weekend.

"We're going to be late!" Hermione exclaimed shrilly "It's half past ten and the train leaves at eleven!"

"Oh Merlin!" Adhara jumped up and was wide awake more quickly than she had ever thought possible. She was washed and dressed within ten minutes and asleep again within five."Adhara! Get up!" Adhara opened her eyes slowly."Aargh!" Hermione was looming over her with a look of mildly deranged fury on her face, Adhara genuinely didn't think that she had ever been so scared as Hermione's hair was currently standing up almost on to mess with her Adhara this time decided to get ready extra slowly but still made sure not to turn her back on the girl - she did value her life after and Ron accompanied the two girls down to the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts express."Bye, have a good Christmas" Harry said hugging Adhara."Same to you" she replied returning the embrace "And you Ron"

"Oh I'll miss you both!" Hermione told them through smiled awkwardly "It's only for two weeks Hermione"

"Oh I know but it will feel like so much longer! Anyway they're calling us onto the train. Merry Christmas!" Together Adhara and Hermione leaped onto the accelerating didn't take them long to find an empty compartment what with there being a fair few less people than in September.

The train chugged along at a steady pace through the mountains that surrounded Hogwarts. Their conversations for the next few hours revolved mainly around their plans for Christmas. Both questioned each other on the differences between muggle and wizard Christmases.

"Mum says they're the same as muggle ones but with more alcohol" Adhara commented on wizarding Christmases. This did not quite garner the titter that she had lunch time the food trolley stopped outside the compartment for them to make their purchases.

Once inside their compartment Adhara pulled a small glass vial out of her trunk."What's in that?" enquired Hermione who was reading the back of a chocolate frog card."Remember that boil curing potion we made at the beginning of the year?" Adhara said grinning wickedly "Well I finally found a way for it to be useful to me"

She took aside three cauldron cakes and started sprinkling the potion over them until the vial ran dry. She was glad that the vile smell had abated enough for the scent of the cauldron cakes to mask it entirely. "I figured that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle would probably drop by to bother us so I decided to make a few changes to the potion so that it would cause boils rather than cure them"

Hermione gaped "_You_ did that yourself?" she asked disbelievingly "You actually put work into something!"

Adhara pulled an offended face that quickly melted into a grin "I'm not just a pretty face"Hermione scoffed. A frown formed across her face though,"Why do think they'll even come by though? And why did you think they'd come after the lunch trolley?"

"Crabbe and Goyle are fat and Draco's an idiot so instead of buying their own food they'll just nick ours"

"Oh"

It wasn't long before Adhara's prediction became truth and

Malfoy sauntered into the compartment, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle."Well" he drawled "I see that your parents are taking you back for Christmas. I can't understand why"

"You know, I reckon your parents should've made Gryffindor Mouth-full. I mean they're actually brave enough to take you for the holidays" Adhara replied smoothly. She discreetly let her hands knock towards one of the cauldron cakes to draw attention to them. Malfoy's eyes lit up "Hmm, the boys and I are feeling a little peckish. Mind if we dig in?" he said it as a demand rather than a question but Adhara answered anyway."Nope. Not at all. As long as you don't touch my cauldron cakes" she said cheerfully."Is that what they're calling them now?" Hermione muttered to herself.

"Cheeky" the other girl commented with a wink.

They were interrupted by three yelps and numerous popping sounds. The boys had taken the bait and eaten the cakes and right now the effects could be seen taking place.

Crabbe was stood stock still as boils sprouted all over his pudgy face and his piggy eyes widened in fear, next to him Goyle wore an expression of utmost confusion. From the way he was prodding the boils it looked as though he was still trying to figure out what had happened to him. Malfoy on the other hand knew perfectly well what had been done to him.

"You did this!" he hissed pointing a finger at Adhara and squinting through the pain.

"Me?" she asked innocently. "How could I have done that? It's most likely just the onset of puberty Malfoy, I hear there's a spotty phase"

Malfoy let out many forbidden expletives one of which Adhara had not heard before.

"Thanks for that Malfoy that could come in useful though I'm not sure your mother would approve"

One more shout of "My father will hear about this!" and Malfoy and his cronies were gone.

"Well at least it livened up the train ride" Hermione commented dryly "Why did you do that though? It was dangerous!""They messed with my mates, no one messes with my mates" she said simply, very aware of how gangster she was sounding.

Adhara sat back and noticed as Hermione started chewing on her lip and staring at her leant forward "That includes you, you know?"

"I-I knew that. You haven't ruined any other food have you?" Hermione asked with a large smile starting to stretch across her face.

Adhara shook her head.

"Then I think I'll start on the chocolate frogs"

Mary ran through the house trying to eat toast and summon the car keys at the same time. She spent half her life telling Adhara off for being late and yet here she was fifteen minutes late setting off to pick up her own daughter.

A wave of her wand and the car keys were in hand and the toast eaten. She glanced in the mirror as she passed it.

"I can't go out with my hair like that!" she said to herself running a hand through the messy brown hair. Another look at the clock told her she was almost twenty minutes late now so she settled for tying it up into a messy bun and hoping that her fringe would not look too bad.

Cursing under her breath she jumped in to the beaten up old car that Remus' mother had lent her and shivered at the cold. Mary couldn't stand driving. The roads would be busy in London and Mary felt that she could not be held responsible for any accidents that she a quick super sensory charm she pulled away from the pavement and succeeded in knocking over next doors flower pot.

Remus had offered to pick up his goddaughter himself but the day happened to coincide with the morning after a full moon and as he would currently be curled up under a blanket with a bar of chocolate under one arm he was unable to do so.

One hour and several magical manipulations of traffic lights later Mary managed to park in front of Kings Cross Station. The car may have been parked diagonally across two spaces but it would do.

Mary looked at her watch - disgustingly late! She shivered again having only thrown on a cardigan.

Five minutes passed and Adhara didn't show up.

"Excuse me" she asked what looked like a seventh year "Have you seen my daughter Adhara? Quite skinny, black hair, pale, probably complaining loudly about something"

"Is she a first year with a right posh voice?" the boy said.

"Yes!" Mary said relieved.

"Then no" he said smirking "I haven't seen her"

"Cocky little upstart" Mary muttered as the boy walked off. She just about resisted the urge to flip him the finger or tell him about how the youth of today were ruining the world.

Instead she searched frantically for Adhara around aware of how crazy she looked with her messy getup and the dark circles under her she heard a strikingly familiar laugh and turned to see Adhara sat with girl of her own age and two parents.

"Adhara!" she cried happily when she got over to them.

"Mum!" Adhara ran over to Mary and threw her arms around her.

"Good Lord you've grown!" Adhara who's head had just reached past her mother's shoulders in the summer was now mouth height to her. "You've got to be what? Five foot four now?""And a half" she added proudly. "Oh this is Hermione!" she said gesturing to the bushy haired girl sat on the bench behind her."Hello Mrs Black" Hermione jumped up and offered a hand out."I go by MacDonald, dear but please call me Mary" she told her shaking the hand.

Hermione's toothy smile faltered a little "Oh sorry"

"It's fine Hermione" Mary smiled warmly "I've heard a lot about you!""All good I hope" Hermione laughed nervously echoing what had been said by a much more confident Adhara during a chat with Mr and Mrs Granger.

"Naturally" she said to a now beaming it was Mr and Mrs Granger's turn to step forward and suddenly Mary was self conscious about her unflattering jeans and worn beige cardigan. Mrs Granger was short and slightly plump but groomed immaculately and wearing perfectly co-ordinated clothes.

Mary had never actually dealt with other parents before. At least not ones who weren't arguing with her because her daughter and accidentally made a girl go bald in a fit of accidental magic.

Both the Grangers were much older than Mary though their brown eyes twinkled with kindness.

"Hello Mrs MacDonald. Evelyn Granger" Mrs Granger carried the same business like air as her daughter. "It's lovely to meet you, we've just been sitting with your charming daughter here"

"Thank you! Sorry I was late Addy!" she apologised over Evelyn's head.

"Oh it's fine dear" Adhara replied brightly "I was perfectly happy chatting to Mr and Mrs Granger here"Suddenly Mary could understand what Evelyn meant by charming.

"How are you doing this?" she saw Hermione mouth over to her and Adhara pleasantries had been exchanged with David Granger who looked like Hermione but with neat, peppered auburn hair, Mary and Adhara headed off to the car with Mary pushing the luggage trolley. "So what do you think of Hogwarts?" Mary asked climbing into the banged up car.

"It's _amazing! _I love it!" Adhara gushed. She then went on to animatedly tell Mary about her year so far stopping mid-way to finally apologise for the fandango with the troll. It was an apology that Mary gladly accepted.

"- don't like Snape though. He's a complete…" Adhara searched for a word that wouldn't earn her a clip round the head.

"Moron?" Mary offered.

"Yeah that, he's just kind of creepy"

"Hmm I know what you mean" Mary said discreetly waving her wand at a lollipop lady who was being very slow in shepherding school children across the road for lunch "He was in my year at school and he was always a bit off"

"He's the same age as you?" Adhara exclaimed disbelievingly "He looks loads older!"

Mary laughed "Well we can't all have skin as great as mine!" she joked.

"No really? _Snape_ was in your year? With Remus and…and dad?" Mary felt her smile fix "Yes Addy. With your father." she said almost coldly. Adhara shifted uncomfortably "Mum, why don't you go by the name Black?" she asked curiously.

Mary breathed deeply, _How do I tell an eleven year old?_"It's complicated love. I'll tell you when you're older"Adhara bit her lip and didn't quite manage to keep the whine from creeping into her voice "But you _always _say that; I just wish we had the same surname sometimes!"

Frowning Mary tried to lighten the mood "Well look at it this way, if I ever do something horrendously embarrassing then you can at least claim that you're not related to me, eh?"She nudged Adhara lightly and just managed to coax a small giggle out of the girl. Not long later they arrived back at the sandy terraced house. It was a relatively normal house from the outside and yet people still tended to give it a wide berth. "Those weirdoes live there" people would whisper "That odd woman and her daughter, she could only have been a teenager when she had her" they would say in scandalised tones.

"And that man that keeps visiting? The one in the patched cardigan and too short trousers?""They all dress funny, I saw the woman in this big long coat the other day - it was sixteen degrees out!" The house was always surrounded by rumours. The most recent being the whereabouts of the daughter.

"They reckon I'm hiding you," Mary snorted "Locking you in the basement and only letting you out to do the dishes"

Together they lugged Adhara's school trunk into the hallway. The house was narrow but light with wooden floors and sky blue walls in the hallway and cream in the rooms. Adhara wandered up to her small bedroom which was exactly how she had left if a little tidier. The walls were the same sunny yellow and still covered in posters of the Tutshill Tornadoes. She threw herself onto the bed and breathed in the familiar scent from the patchwork blanket. It was the one she had gotten from her godfather when she was seven, his mother had made it specially and it still smelt vaguely of sweet tea and chocolate.

"Adhara! Remus is here!" Mary shouted up the stairs."Hi Dhara" Remus' calm voice drifted up the bolted down the narrow flight of stairs immediately and swung on the banister at the bottom to land with a great flourish. In the slightly cluttered kitchen her godfather was leant up against the worktop nursing a large mug of tea.

"You alright?" she asked him, concerned over the sagging bags under his eyes and the sickly paleness to his skin.

"I'm fine" he said appreciatively before holding out one arm "Hug?"Adhara accepted the offer gratefully and skipped forward to embrace jumped back again though when he winced upon contact."Sorry! Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure, just a little under the weather" Adhara nodded with wide eyes. She was used to her godfather's 'episodes' as her mother had always called them. Every few weeks Remus would fall ill for a few days at a time for some reason unknown to Adhara herself but apparently it was untreatable. The next hour passed quickly as Adhara told Remus of her time at Hogwarts. It was always great to see Remus, he was perhaps the person Adhara was closest to aside from Mary. He had been friends with Mary since school though Adhara had only met him when she was a smiling six year old and he was a haggard young man with patched robes and eyes that looked as though they had lived through a thousand years of misery. Though his robes were still frayed his eyes had taken on a more youthful appearance and now shone with tired but vibrant cheerfulness. Remus was always ready with a soothing mug of tea, some chocolate and an understanding ear or interesting story.

"So, how's Hogwarts? I've already heard you're not to keen on Professor Snape" said Remus hastily in an attempt to stop Adhara pondering his illness too much."Hate him," Adhara said cheerfully, "but at least he's not as bad with me as he is with Harry"

Remus frowned "Well Professor Snape can be a bit of a bully, just try to be on his good side and you should be okay."

"I wasn't aware that he had a good side"***

"Snap!"

"No!"

The cards in the middle of the table exploded loudly causing Mary and Adhara to leap away from them."I didn't…snap…soon enough" Mary panted, returning from behind the sofa, "Still got your eyebrows?"

Adhara laughed "Yeah""Well we can carry on playing then"It was Christmas Eve night and outside the windows of the small house snow was twirling down.

Inside it was warm and the room was lit by clusters of candles and a roaring and Adhara sat listening to Christmas hits over the wireless, wearing thick fair isle jumpers. As a Christmas treat Mary had allowed Adhara a little tipple of butterbeer to go with her mince pies.

"Remus says he's sorry he couldn't spend the night with us, he's visiting family in Ireland"

Adhara shrugged "It's alright. He's coming tomorrow right?""Yes, he said he can't spend more than a day with them. I understand what he means though, I can hardly stand to spend one hour with your Grandad," Mary sighed. "Miserable old sod" she added under her breath. "You still make me visit him each year though" muttered Adhara with a grimace."He's just miserable since your Grandma died. Do you remember your Gran at all?" Mary asked peering over her deck of cards."A bit," Adhara tilted her head to the side as she tried to remember "Had those massive thick glasses and that messy bun in her hair?"

"That's her" Mary beamed "I remember one Christmas when I was sixteen and she set fire to some of the hair dangling out of the bun when she lit the Christmas pudding! Your Grandad laughed for ten minutes straight!"Adhara sighed. Her mother had that look on her face that suggested a long trip of lonely reminiscing; the fire reflected in Mary's eyes before she suddenly snapped out of her reverie.

"I have an early Christmas present for you" she said abruptly. "Really?" Adhara said perking up immediately. Mary nodded. She stood up and turned to a box on the bookcase which she pulled a small square of card from. "Here" she said handing it to Adhara.

They sat in a silence that was broken only by Celestina Warbeck cawing down the radio having reached the top spot on the Christmas charts.

Mary studied her daughters face carefully and noted the small frown that appeared on it.

"Is…is this my dad?" Adhara asked quietly with a crack in her voice.

Once again Mary photo showed a much younger Mary in the arms of a handsome young man with ebony hair, high cheekbones and sparkling grey eyes. They were both wearing Christmas hats and every few moments would turn to kiss for the mistletoe that they were stood underneath.

On the back was scrawled "_Xmas Eve 78"_

"I thought you might want one photo of him"

Feeling and explosion of emotion inside herself at the sight of her father Adhara sniffed."I think it's bedtime now, Addy"

Adhara lay awake in bed for a long time thinking about the smiling young man in the picture who was her father. Did the man know he was destined to die young? Did he know that in a few short years he would be leaving behind his wife and small daughter? Did he care? Adhara couldn't help but wonder why this was the first time she had seen his picture.

"I thought I'd taught you better than this. I'm very disappointed"

"I'm sorry, I know it was a mistake"

"Sorry isn't good enough!"

"What else could I have done?" Adhara pleaded.

"Well you could have easily taken my knight with your bishop rather than send your queen to slaughter like that" Remus smiled over the brand new chess board.

Christmas day had passed at the sluggish pace that it often did and seemed to be ending the way Adhara was used to: her and Remus playing chess whilst Mary tried desperately to understand the activity. "It's just pushing a few toys around a board!" She would exclaim several times each time they played it.

"I could say the same thing about Monopoly" Adhara replied the after Mary said it for the third consecutive time that evening.

Mary chuckled, "You just don't get the money" she said exchanging a smile with Remus.

Another game of chess Mary left the room to make mugs of tea and get another tin of chocolates.

"I hear your mum gave you a picture of your dad" Remus said conversationally.

"Yeah" Adhara said not looking up from the chess board.

"You're allowed to ask questions about him, you know"

"Really?" Adhara asked snapping her head up "It doesn't seem like it to me, each time a mention him mum clams up and gets shirty with me!"

"I didn't mean ask your mother I meant ask me" Remus replied calmly.

"Oh," Adhara said abashedly "What was he like?""He had a wicked sense of humour, a bit reckless at times and didn't always live up to what he said but he tried. He adored you and your mum"That was the one thing Remus was sure about, the man had certainly loved Mary. Almost obsessively so.

"Do I take after him at all?"

Remus pretended to ponder this one, of course she did. At times it was like transported right back to the seventies.

"Physically yes, you also have his sense of humour if not quite as harsh."

_You look like him,_ Remus thought, _but please don't turn out like him. I'll make sure you don't. _

"How did he die?" Adhara asked was struck dumb for a moment, "Dhara, it's Christmas! Can't you think of a slightly less morbid question?"

Adhara looked up to the ceiling in mock despair "You don't want to tell me do you?""Not really," Remus admitted "I'm sure your mum will tell you when you're and adult"

"And if she still refuses to tell me when I'm seventeen?""If she still refuses tell you when you're seventeen then _I_ will tell you" Remus offered.

"Really?" Adhara asked excitedly leaning forward "You promise?"

Remus hesitated "I promise"

They shook hands and Adhara leaned back to her original seat on the floor and smirked smugly.

"What have a gotten myself into…" Remus murmured to himself shaking his head.

Mary re-entered the room levitating a large tin of Quality Streets from the neighbours and three mugs of tea.

"Hermione sent me a massive crate of Bertie Bott's, do you want to see who can find the most disgusting flavour?" Adhara asked them both cheerfully."I'll go get them" she said without waiting for an answer. The next second she had flitted out of the room.

"What did she make you agree to?" Mary questioned Remus suspiciously."Oh - me? Nothing Mary" Remus replied airily.

"I know you promised her something that I wouldn't, you didn't give her some of your firewhiskey did you? I knew she would be hyper drunk!"

"Yes Mary," Remus dead-panned "I let an eleven year old do shots"

**Thoughts?**


End file.
